Strength of an Honest Soul
by Chaos Productions
Summary: A war halted, a pact reforged, a people restored, and a Council overthrown. After a tumultuous premature Apocalypse, the Balance has finally been restored, and Creation once more knows relative peace. But darkness looms ever-threatening once again, and now the fate of Creation lies not in the hands of Angel or Demon or Horseman - but on the shoulders of an innocent little girl.
1. Chapter 1

**Pre-Chapter A/N:** **Not much to say here other than a _great_ amount of thanks to Unseen Lurker, whose story "Of Red Petals and Black Feathers" quite literally inspired the hell out of this one. This story is posted with his consent - and I cannot express my thanks enough.**

 **So. My first foray into the RWBY fandom. Let's see how this goes, eh?**

 **Strength of an Honest Soul  
Chapter 1  
Curse… or Blessing?**

Upon a canvas of pure white snow slowly drowning in a rising tide of writhing darkness and grim violence, a little red Rose ran for her life.

Tiny legs carried the girl as fast as they could through the bare forests of Patch, as silver eyes darted side to side, scanning the ominous claw-like branches around her. Her breath escaped her in soft and panicked gasps as she kept one foot before the other, traversing the small island's forests with practiced ease born from countless back-and-forth trips. One tiny, clammy hand gripped the shaft of a mish-mash of tools and bits and pieces resembling a scythe, dragging the weapon she'd cobbled together in her father's tool shed behind her and leaving clefts and trenches in the snow as a crimson cape much, much too large for such a small girl fluttered behind her – one of the few splotches of colour on the stark monochromatic landscape.

Even from here, she could hear the klaxons and alarms wailing, sending signals of threat and ominous news as far as even the small island's coast.

A litany of growls accompanied the distant mechanical howls, and the sound served only to spur the little red-clad girl onward ever faster.

With a soft _hup_ the little girl vaulted over a fallen trunk, keeping her eyes forward as the ever-sinister snarls and rasps and howls and growls danced amidst the blackened bark of the trees behind her. She'd been at her mother's tombstone when the first alerts had sounded in the distance, a klaxon she'd rarely heard signalling an influx of monsters terrifying and fearsome. With a final goodbye – at least for one meeting – she'd sped into the forest at a breakneck pace, leaving only tracks in the snow and rose petals in the wind as evidence she'd even been there in the first place. And yet, her path through the forest, one she'd travelled so many times before, had disappeared under a veritable _ocean_ of jet-black fur and bony white masks.

She had never seen so many Grimm in her short life…

A reckless part of her at first wished to fight, to do as the heroes in the stories had done and vanquish the black beasts where they stood. Upon seeing more gaping maws than she could count and more glaring eyes than she could hope to hide from, however, she wisely decided to bolt; she hadn't even started at Signal Academy yet – even if she did have a somewhat passable weapon on hand. She couldn't fight against those numbers; not yet, she told herself stubbornly.

So there she was, a tiny girl with a weapon much too cumbersome to wield, wearing a cloak too big to be reasonable while running from the largest influx of Grimm that the denizens of Patch had ever seen.

The small, small of part of her that hadn't been stricken by fear wondered just where they had all come from.

No sooner had she allowed this thought to come to pass when a thunderous, almost deafening _crack_ sundered the muted, distant ambience around her. The sudden staccato boom elicited a yelp from the red-clad girl, and the briefest, _briefest_ lapse in focus lead to her stumbling to her knees under the sudden sonic assault. The shoddy scythe flew forwards, embedding itself in the ground.

Panic-stricken silver eyes scanned the snowy carpet, and widened when the slightest shade of red bled into the harsh whiteness around her. Pale moonlight gave way to intense copper bloom as the once pure snow turned sickly under alien light, and only then did the little girl notice the rumbling growing ever louder.

Then came the howls, and the growls, and the barks and the snarls and the beastly chorus of a horde of Grimm, and before panicked silver eyes could blink the sea of black surrounded the little red girl completely. Jet-dark fur and bony scowls stretched as far as her tiny eyes could see, and for but a moment fear had sunk its venomous fangs right into her heart, paralysing her completely. A soft whimper attempted to voice hope, attempted to scream for help and pray her uncle would come cleaving through the horde to save her again.

But he did not come.

And the Grimm, amazingly, did not attack.

Huddled on the ground with her cloak drawn tight around her, the little red Rose dared to glance up at her assailants. Not one of the terrible, bony sneers was directed at her. Not one of those open, serrated maws was moving forward to chomp down on her. No, the deep, murderous gazes of the beasts of Grimm were all directed upwards, at the fractured, shattered moon above – and only then did the little girl in red realise that the copper taint blooming on the snow was growing ever deeper, ever brighter.

Fearful silver eyes glanced up, at the same anomalies that seemed to enrapture the soulless Grimm…

…and those same eyes widened to their limits when they beheld the great clusters of fire descending to the earth.

Roiling clouds of hellish orange inferno barrelled towards the rising, writhing sea of Grimm, trailing ominous red smoke and bits and pieces of charred debris in their wake. The closer the great fists of fire came, the more agitated the creatures of Grimm grew. Lupine snouts bore fierce snarls and ursine bellows rang above the cacophony of wolfish songs, and all the while the flames drew ever closer.

Curling up where she sat, and drawing her cloak ever closer, the little girl in red squinted at the growing bullets of flame, hoping the creatures around her didn't divert their attention from it.

And then, just as the flames shone at their brightest, silver eyes beheld monstrous scowls, serrated fangs and armour twisted and sinister enough to make her quiver even more.

And finally, little Ruby Rose shrieked as the bombs of fire slammed into the shifting masses of Grimm…

…and Hell itself unleashed its chaos onto the forest around her.

* * *

In essence, they were a force of ruin – Destruction incarnate, some would say. The soulless beasts of Grimm, bearing the colour of oblivion itself and masks ever so similar to one of Creation's most feared executioners. They were beings of darkness drawn to all that is wrong and unholy, monsters utterly void of empathy or morality, that lived for nothing but the destruction of what precious few remained in the Third Kingdom. With fang and claw, they fought with every ounce of the ferocity that made them so feared in humanity's eyes.

Yet… despite it all, despite their numbers measuring an unfathomable amount and their ferocity striking fear into the hearts of even the bravest of Man's children…

…they were still horribly, _horribly_ outmatched.

For even the oldest of the beasts of Grimm were but pups in the eyes of the Second Kingdom.

Fang and claw was met with fire and steel, courtesy of beings wielding such power the very beasts of extinction were trampled underfoot. Demonkind matched the bloodthirsty roars of the Grimm in equal, almost _greater_ volume, and their own smouldering glares and bared fangs caused even the soulless monsters of darkness to falter. Wielding magic and skill honed by _millennia_ of fighting the First Kingdom's finest, and weapons that had not dulled a bit during the ceasefire between kingdoms, they advanced on their ambushers not with fear or trepidation, but with _wrath_ , _rage_ and _scorn_.

And thus, the hounds of war were loosed.

On one side were the beasts of Grimm – soulless and ferocious and unrelenting in their destructive existence.

On the other were the warriors of Hell itself – ancient, dark and bloodthirsty as ever portrayed by history, and furious and overwhelming in their strength.

And caught between the two warring sides, none the wiser, was a young, innocent little girl in red – woefully unaware of the fate awaiting her.

* * *

 _It's okay to be afraid,_ she told herself as she darted from thicket to thicket, from upraised knoll of roots to upraised knoll of roots in her mad dash to escape the deafening chaos around her. _It's okay to be afraid, it's okay to be afraid. Uncle Qrow said so – it's okay to be afraid._

Despite being so young, she had been afraid many, many times before. She had been afraid when her mother had disappeared, after embarking on a mission fit only for super-cool super-awesome Huntresses, only to never come back. She had been afraid whenever her father would usher them inside as distant alarms signalled an influx of Grimm on Patch, cutting into her playtime with Yang and Zwei. She had been afraid – _especially_ afraid – when one of Yang's friends had accidentally cut off a lock of her blonde hair (their house _still_ creaked in some places).

And yet, she couldn't quite recall a time where she was as panicked and fearful as she was now.

At least a part of that fear, she reckoned, was because of the new monsters in the forest – the ones who were butchering the Grimm as though they were _nothing_.

Ruby didn't rightly remember where they came from. She remembered an explosion, and she remembered screaming as the explosion went off, as the painful scratch in her throat now reminded her. She remembered falling flat on her face –

 _Then everything went crazy,_ she thought with a grimace. Trees whizzed by as she ran, dragging her weapon behind her. Snowy hills rose and fell, but the Grimm – and their attackers – seemed to be everywhere.

Every now and then, her eyes would fall on one such an attacker, one versus many as the Grimm tried to overwhelm and trample. She beheld monstrous visages; giants standing more than double her own height, wearing spiky armour and wielding massive weapons – massive enough to put even Uncle Qrow's scythe to shame. Lipless mouths bared ugly yellow fangs, and their eyes blazed hatred at whatever Grimm was mad enough to attack them.

They were strong, Ruby realised with an audible gulp; strong enough to beat the odds – and the Grimm – through nothing but brute force.

A tree before her _splintered_ under the assault of a giant, saw-toothed axe, and Ruby yelped, hopping back as half a Beowolf flew over her head. The monster before her, blue-skinned and bare-chested, roared with a fury that matched the half-a-dozen Beowolves attacking it, and the swings of its axe caused gusts of wind to kick up small puffs of snow as it went.

 _Not that way, not that way,_ Ruby thought quickly, springing to her feet and sprinting in another direction, leaving another flurry of petals in her wake. She zipped through trees again, ignoring the roars and death rattles around her as she tried her best to escape the never-ending sea of war. A Beowolf yelped to her left, and her peripheral just _barely_ caught sight of a flying carcass, and to her left she heard one of the armoured monsters growl as claws scraped against armour.

A hill of snow before her _exploded_ as an abnormally large Beowolf managed to tackle one of the evil-looking fighters through a tree, and with a loud _'eep!'_ and a quick roll to the side Ruby just barely managed to avoid getting flattened. More Beowolves followed the scuffle, emerging from the trench in the snow, fangs glistening and eyes gleaming.

 _Not that way either!_ Ruby thought erratically, darting to the side to avoid the confrontation.

Trailing petals wherever she ran, Ruby zigzagged through the warzone, never once losing her cool despite her youth and inexperience – and despite the loud yelps and wails she'd often let out after _barely_ avoiding stumbling into a full-on battle to the death between the two sides. Occasionally the little Rose would have to hide in a stray pile of fallen leaves or in a hollow beneath one of the blackened trees as the fighting seemed to converge on one spot before moving on.

The Grimm had become absolutely mindless – sometimes they even attacked _each other_.

There was something _seriously_ wrong about that.

 _Gotta get back,_ she thought as she zipped between battles. _Gotta get back, gotta get back._ All she had to do was get away from all the fighting and somehow make it back home. Then everything would be alright – Dad and Uncle Qrow would come and get rid of the Grimm and all these other uglies, and she'd be safe and sound, playing with Zwei and eating cookies and strawberries and maybe even working on her weapon, despite her lack of understanding so far.

The thought almost – _almost_ – made her smile despite the situation.

She dug in her heels, suddenly, skidding to a halt just as one of the uglies hurled a Beowolf away with one hand. The lupine monster flew by her so closely she could almost feel its fur tickle her nose. With a frustrated groan, Ruby altered her course again just before another small pack of Beowolves leapt through the trees, and sped around the sudden battle, keeping her head down and her sprint steady.

 _There's so many of them…_ Again, she altered her course as the forces of Grimm converged on another group of uglies in front of her. Despite the Beowolves' numbers, the uglies seemed to fight better as a group – already, the corpses were piling up around the four warriors, forming a morbid wall that was used to funnel the remaining Grimm. _Gross…_ Ruby shuddered as she sped past, propping her weapon up on her shoulder to allow herself easier movement.

She heard a loud yelp, suddenly, to her right – and against her better judgement, turned her head to look at the scuffle. With a loud _splat_ she nearly tripped over her own feet as a large glob of Grimm ichor splattered all over her face. _Ew! Gross, gross, gross, gross…_ She pawed at her face as she ran, just barely seeing enough to dodge the trees in her path as she scrambled to get the icky gunk off her face. She blew her nose quickly to get that part of her face clear, only for the inky substance to slip into her mou- _It's in my mouth, it's in my mouth, ew, ew, eeewww!_ She started sputtering and spitting as she tried to purge the foul stuff from her mouth.

In her panic, sadly, she forgot to pay attention to where she was going.

Her forehead collided with steel with a resounding _thud_ , and with a mixture of a pained groan and a pitiful whimper Ruby spun in place once before falling flat on her back, kicking up snow as she landed. Her dazed state all but evaporated, however, when a dark steel boot slammed down in front of her. She had mere _moments_ to realise she had sprinted headlong into one of the uglies before an axe almost as silver as her eyes glinted ominously as it was raised high into the moonlight. Piercing, sickly yellow eyes locked with her own, and she yelped as the monstrous warrior before her roared, baring fangs and sending reverberations through her ears. With a hateful gaze it readied to strike –

…and then, it paused, its roar dying down and leaving only Ruby's low wail of fear to echo through the trees.

"…I-I-I-I'm sorry?" Ruby ventured, eyes wide, her hands still raised before her in a placating – and somewhat surrendering – manner.

With a snort, the ugly warrior sneered at her as it lowered its axe, its lipless fangs still set into a sinister sneer. Scaly gray features and a face that almost, _almost_ seemed pig-like looked down at her, seeming almost contemplative if it weren't for the fact that the beastly being looked just about ready to smear her across the snow.

Ruby flinched as the warrior spoke, its voice deep, raw and bloodthirsty and its language sounded like someone actually took violence and formed it into words. Its language was completely alien to her, sounding aggressive and scary and every single word he said just made her want to sink deeper into the snow and _why isn't he stopping?!_

"I-I don't understand!" She said weakly, trying her best to look pleading and confused instead of terrified.

The pig-person opened its mouth again, but anything it might have wanted to say died out as a loud howl shattered the relative silence around them. A blur of black shot past it, claws raking across scaly flesh and dented steel, but this just seemed to make the pig-person angrier; it caught the offending clawed limb in its free hand, and used it to hold the Beowolf in place as that ominous silver axe cleaved through it. Another Beowolf leapt at the pig-person, only for an outstretched hand to catch it right around its throat. The Grimm was gracelessly slammed down into the snow, before a downright _monstrous_ punch made the wolf-thing almost fold in on itself with a sickening crunch of bone.

The pig-person looked to Ruby again, eyes narrowed, and spoke once more, in that same raw, violence-hungry tone.

" _ **Flee, human.**_ "

 _That,_ she understood.

Without a peep, Ruby nodded meekly, before disappearing in a puff of rose petals.

 _This is so weird!_ Ruby thought despairingly as she darted from fight to fight, easily skirting around the brawls by way of her recently-discovered Semblance. Between the uglies suddenly appearing and killing Grimm by the dozens, and the Grimm themselves going so crazy that they'd actually start attacking each other, Ruby's mind was a mess. After evading the fourth major brawl, where some Beowolves actually _ignored_ the uglies in favour of attacking any other Grimm they came across, Ruby wearily decided to give up on figuring stuff out.

 _I just want to go home…_

Her legs were even starting to ache.

Another harsh bark of violent language met her ears, and she skidded to a halt behind one of the bare trees so she could see whether or not she'd have to change course.

A group of six uglies stood before her, not too far away – close enough for her to see the various wounds covering them, and the various corpses of both Grimm and ugly warriors around them. They were surrounded by a fresh pack of Beowolves, each snarling and flexing their claws as though _eager_ to tear the monster-men apart. With baited breath Ruby waited, for the battle to start – when the two sides were focused on each other, she could easily slip by unnoticed.

And just before the Beowolves could commence their attack, a low, distant, yet _intense_ sizzling sound interrupted the tense stand-off.

That sound was all warning the unknowing Grimm received.

Hellish red-and-black fire _blazed_ into the left-most Beowolves – it was a torrent of roiling tongues of flame that drowned out the very yelps of the beasts it reduced to ash in a blink. The sheer intensity of it stung at Ruby's eyes as she watched, and her vision was suddenly blurred by tears brought on from the brightness. She could only _just_ make out a _colossal_ black figure leaping from the trees and hurling itself into the fray with a roar that made the snow around her quiver and the ground beneath her feet tremble. A large, square object Ruby _immediately_ recognised as a shield slammed flush into a group of three Beowolves, and the force behind it hurled the monsters clean out of the clearing, and from behind the shield, a fiendish spear struck home, piercing the hearts and throats of any Grimm foolish enough to stand in its path.

Not waiting a moment longer, Ruby started to circle the battle, dabbing at her eyes with the edge of her cloak. The clarity of vision she had regained allowed her a better look at the latest warrior to join the fray. _Obviously the leader_ , Ruby thought as she kept her gaze on the battle while she scurried from cover to cover. The Leader was monstrous – standing almost Ruby's height _above_ its already giant peers, and almost _four_ times the girl's own width, the severe-looking plate armour and hellish-looking spikes only served to make the beast-man look that much more menacing. From beneath a bark-like mask, two violet eyes were narrowed with rage, and the behemoth's head was covered by a helm topped by two _enormous_ curved horns.

Ruby gulped. That wish to just _disappear_ into the snow until the fight was over was coming back.

Yet even this did not deter the little girl. As the uglies fought on, their vigour and drive renewed by their Leader's appearance, Ruby kept creeping from blackened tree to blackened tree, careful to move _really_ slowly and _really_ carefully, so as not to draw the frenzied Grimm's attention as they tried to dogpile the alien warriors. The Leader, she noticed, stood head and shoulders above its peers – each bash from its shield shattered the bones of numerous Grimm, and each crescent sweep of its spear batted the soulless monsters aside.

It would have been, in her mind, an absolutely amazing sight, had circumstances not rendered her fear-stricken.

She was almost halfway to the next tree, though, when her silver eyes witnessed a peculiar sight.

In the midst of the battle before her, a curious light caught her eye. It was a completely random sight, seeing a dull golden light radiating from a small(ish) pouch on the Leader Ugly's belt. Even if there wasn't a battle raging, it would be just _barely_ noticeable. So why, then, did it catch her eye?

And why, _why_ couldn't she look away?

 _Pretty_ , she thought in a trance as she gazed as the dull light. It seemed to glow brighter the longer she looked at it – warmer, too. It was as though she could _feel_ the warmth of the dim light splaying across her face. It felt so… _comfortable._ Like all her worries were just… disappearing, as she gazed at it. Fear became contentedness, panic became peace and a dopey smile formed on Ruby's lips as she felt the light _tugging_ at her, dragging her into the clearing. It _called_ to her, welcomed her with its warming rays, and idly Ruby felt her arm move as she stretched a hand out before her, wanting just to _graze_ the calming light –

She jerked suddenly, and shook her head, breaking the sudden stupor that had overcome her, and immediately the sounds of battle returned.

A Beowolf corpse flew over her, and a scuffle to the left pelted her with snow. She counted less than ten feet between herself and the Leader Ugly, and panic wrapped its cold fingers around her tiny heart.

She had wandered _right_ into the fray – and now she was surrounded on all sides, her hand still outstretched towards the glowing light before her.

She let out a low whine of panic when the colossal black figure before her spun around, and the whine itself died out the moment furious violet eyes locked with her own silver ones. The Leader Ugly's glare made a ball of cold form in the pit of her stomach, and even though the bark-covered mask obscured it, Ruby could almost _sense_ the sneer on the creature's face. "I… I wasn't going to – I didn't mean…" She fumbled with her words as the Leader's presence grew _that_ much more imposing – the warrior rose to its full height, towering over every other living thing. Its shoulders were squared and its fierce gaze was set, and despite the lull in combat, that door-sized shield remained at the ready.

Then, with a brutal swing of its arm, said shield was _hurled_ in her direction.

Ruby dove forward with a short shriek, her scythe dropping into the snow once again as the giant chunk of steel soared over her. Though her eyes had been screwed shut in fright, she could _hear_ the shield slamming into two Grimm behind her – the snapping of bone almost made her feel nauseous. The shield fell to the ground behind her with an audible thud, and the pitiful whine that followed signalled a third Grimm wounded in the attack.

The ground under her shook then, and footsteps thundered towards her – steel hissed through the air, and the sound of a weapon piercing flesh sent another Grimm to the grave, its corpse slamming down right next to her.

Fearfully, she looked up, her lower lip quivering – whether from the cold or something else, she didn't know. Those violent violet eyes still glared at her, disdainful, judging and callous.

And yet… the giant's spear was embedded firmly into the chest of the Grimm beside her.

What was believed to be an attack on her had instead saved her.

"…I just wanna go home…" She said, her voice escaping her in a weak moan as she remained on her knees, staring at the abyssal monster before her.

The Leader's eyes seemed to narrow as it gazed at her. Just a hint of calculating contemplation flitted between the rays of hatred and condescension – before they finally blinked. The armoured warrior loosed a monstrous sigh, and with a quick yet mighty jerk of his arm, it ripped the spear from the Grimm's corpse, and turned.

" _ **Leave then, human,**_ " it spoke, its voice deep and rumbling. " _ **Leave and do not look back. Speak of this with**_ **no one.** "

"…O-Okay…" She mumbled, clumsily patting at the snow in search of her scythe as she tried to stand again. Her legs wobbled under the attempt, and biting cold finally registered in all her limbs, but that didn't stop her – it wouldn't stop her. Not _now_. Not when she was so close to home…

An image flickered in her mind's eye – an image of Yang, and Dad, and Zwei, and suddenly it was as though she could _feel_ home's warmth.

That alone spurred her on.

Howls from the darkened forest accompanied a harsh bark of orders from the Leader Ugly, and the lesser warriors quickly formed a half-hearted barricade around Ruby's path. Their weapons were raised and their fangs were bared – for some reason, these evil-looking things were helping her escape.

The Beowolves stormed through the trees and snowy undergrowth the moment Ruby took her first step – their numbers had increased, and they seemed even more frantic.

Ruby wasted no time in reaching the edge of the clearing, even when the collision of forces almost _deafened_ her. Claws and fangs scraped against armour and shields, and axes and swords hacked into flesh and bone – and yet, not once did the warriors allow even a _single_ Grimm to lay its eyes on her.

She broke out of the clearing and into the undergrowth with an almost relieved huff. Her legs ached as she walked and her lungs burned with every breath, and still, Ruby managed to force herself onwards. A part of her felt a surge of childlike _glee_ upon realising all those painful exercises with Yang were paying off.

Suddenly she felt grateful her sister had included her in 'getting ready for Signal' – even if Ruby couldn't properly use a scythe yet. Baby steps, Dad always says.

The conflict behind her rose in volume, and she found herself looking back while struggling to free her foot from a very, very stubborn tree root. She gasped slightly when saw no less than _nine_ Beowolves attempting to gang up on the Leader Ugly – hideous scrapes covered once smooth, black armour, and one of the colossal horns atop the helmet was even chipped slightly.

And yet, despite the odds, the monstrous warrior kept slaying Grimm by the handful at a time.

Then Ruby saw it – a lone Beowolf, larger and bonier than the rest, hanging back, slinking in the trees and hiding in the formation's blind spot. It kept its form tensed and readied, waiting for the ideal moment to strike – and before Ruby could even yell out a warning, the Alpha darted forward, flexing its claws as it went right for the Leader's unguarded back.

Her breath caught in her throat as the Leader noticed the attack, and managed to evade _just_ as the claws would have slashed at the clasps of its dark armour – but the Beowolf's attack lashed at the Leader's hip nonetheless, and its claws raked at that ever-glowing little pouch dangling from the belt.

Ruby's eyes unwillingly followed the small linen bundle as it soared through the air, ripped from the Leader's belt by a relentless swipe and propelled forward by the Grimm beast's considerable strength. A part of her willed herself to look away, knowing _exactly_ what happened last time she looked – but before she could screw her eyes shut and willingly jerk her head away, the torn linen slipped off the object, fluttering into the breeze.

Once more, light captivated Ruby – only this time, it was much, _much_ brighter.

With a loud _thunk_ the orb landed a few feet ahead of her, rolling forward and bathing the blackened trees in a dazzling lightshow before coming to a stop against a steep hill of snow. The ethereal glow from the bronze sphere painted the white canvas beneath it pure gold, and once more Ruby found herself walking towards it, enraptured by its dazzling display.

She really should have been heading home by now, she thought drowsily as she stumbled towards the orb. But the lights looked so _pretty_ … and it was _warm_ , warmer than even her cloak could be at times. She fell to her knees mere feet from the orb, and felt the warmth envelop her. The light seemingly _whispered_ in her ears, wordless sounds of soothing calm, and Ruby felt her eyelids grow heavy as she reached out to grab hold of the orb.

The Leader Ugly dropped it, after all, she thought drowsily – wouldn't it be rude not to give it back?

She heard the warriors roaring behind her – both in a language she _didn't_ understand and one she did. They sounded so very, very distant – had she been any sleepier, she thought, she wouldn't hear them at all.

And just as a fearful cry of " _ **Do not touch that!**_ " exploded from behind her, her fingers grazed the warm bronze.

Her drowsiness was blown away in an instant. Pain – cruel, merciless, _icy cold_ pain – shot through her entire body, running right up her spine and blasting clean into her skull. With a wordless cry of agony Ruby dropped flat on her face, hand still grasping the bronze orb, as her sight tore itself apart. Through jolts of numbing pain and twisting agony her vision flashed, what was once a spectrum of colour becoming an amber hue as splotches of colour blurred on the golden canvas.

She saw a verdant forest, an almost overwhelming scene of green, being swallowed by shadow – one wave coming from below, and another descending from above, drowning the eight figures haplessly caught in-between.

She saw crashing waves and bright moonlight, as beams of white from a fractured moon danced across jewels and crystals of all sorts and sizes, just before a deafening explosion pierced the centre of the dazzling array, sending blotches and blurs of red, white, black and yellow scattering.

She saw silhouettes of people walking hand-in-hand, dancing and laughing and giggling and twirling as candlelight burned around them, casting shadows across the figures wearing sinister smirks and malicious, slanted eyes.

And finally she saw a glow – a wicked, sizzling flare of light from two sinister eyes, perched atop a flowing red dress pulsing with amber-hued power.

With a violent jerk of her head and a pained yelp, Ruby pulled her hand away from the glowing orb of bronze, taking ragged breaths as she willed the pain assailing her head to dissipate. Both hands clutched at her temples as agony pulsed through her head, and only through gritting her teeth did she manage to keep from whining from the hurt. The pain quickly turned into numbness, and soon Ruby found herself breathing normally. She opened her eyes, and turned to look at the orb again – only to stop herself this time, before another series of pains attacked her. _What… What was that…?_ She thought in a daze as she stumbled around, trying to get back on her feet. _What did I just see…?_

That orb was dangerous… It had the power to ensnare whatever being chose to look at it, and could hurt them greatly with as little as a glancing touch.

No wonder the Leader Ugly was the one to carry it… It must have been an object of great importance.

She turned back, looking at the battle raging in the distance. The brawl had reached its climax, it seemed – what remained of the small pack of Beowolves that had ambushed them assaulted the Uglies with abandon. Several of the armoured warriors had fallen in the fight, leaving only two to fight beside the black-clad leader. Although the howls and growls and roars in the distance meant the war between sides was still raging, it was obvious _this_ battle was coming to a close – and with the Leader still seeming hale and hearty, the predicted victor was obvious.

She had to stop herself from looking right at the orb again, keeping a hand raised to block it out of her vision just in case she slipped. She _could_ always leave it there, she thought. It's not like the thing was bothering anyone, after all. But if it could call out to people like that…

What if it went missing, and someone else – someone from Patch, even – found it?

What would happen?

Her bottom lip quivered as she felt renewed conflict within her.

Any other person would have left the orb there, to be lost in the snowy undergrowth, and forget it about – it wasn't their problem after all, was it? But Ruby Rose wasn't any other person – she wanted to be a Huntress.

She wanted to help people.

And while she was almost sure those ugly, armoured warriors didn't count as 'normal' people – how could they, looking and speaking like _that?_ – they had showed her kindness, however violent they sounded while doing so. Ruby wasn't a fool, despite being so young – she could barely swing a scythe, so she knew she couldn't help them fight. With the large number of Grimm about, she wasn't sure she _wanted_ to, either… But if she could help the Leader, just by returning the orb to it, wouldn't that be enough?

After all, the Leader – ugly as it was – had saved her life.

Surely that warranted a kindness in turn…

She whined as the pondered what to do, alternating her glances between the fighting warriors and the bronze orb – or at least, the general area where the orb lay, still hidden by her upraised hand. A part of her really, really, _really_ wanted to run off, go home and just _forget_ about everything that happened. Maybe she could even convince herself she was dreaming. But on the other hand… There was that nagging voice in the back of her head, reminding her: she had been helped.

Dad always said it was 'the right thing to do', helping people who helped you.

With a tired, almost frustrated groan, Ruby reached her decision – she pulled off her cloak and, mumbling a barely audible apology to the weathered garb, tossed it in the direction of the orb. It landed the way she had wanted it to, completely covering the bronze sphere. To her immense relief, she saw her cloak was much less transparent than the old linen pouch; barely a hint of the golden light escaped through the red fabric. Taking a deep breath, Ruby strode over and scooped the orb up, cloak and all. The crimson garb pooled in her hands, spilling through her tiny fingers, and it was so bunched up Ruby would have been uncertain she was even _holding_ it had it not been for that solid weight hidden within the cloak's folds.

She gave the bundle an experimental squeeze – and noticed no jolts of pain or lances of agony.

She released a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

 _Whew. Well, that's one part done._

Now she just had to –

A tree crashed down to her left, the sudden thundering boom making the girl jump a good few feet in fright. Wide, quivering eyes beheld the fallen trunk, and suddenly Ruby was made painfully aware of the monstrous shadow looming over her. Gulping – _loudly_ – she turned, already preparing to face the Leader Ugly. She was so close. _Just give the orb back and run. Simple. Just give the_ –

She flinched when she finally saw the warrior's form. Its dark armour was _littered_ with scrapes and dents, one horn atop its helm had been broken clean off and some parts around the bark mask's one eyehole had chipped away, revealing inky blue skin beneath the purple glowing eye. She gulped, seeing the same look of violence and rage shining in those eyes despite the injuries, and unconsciously she took a step back. "I… I wanted to give it back…" She said, somewhat lamely.

The Leader's eyes narrowed, scrutinising her in a way that made her want to sink into the snow once again. " _ **You touched the orb,**_ " it spoke, clearly, in a way she more than understood. There was a very, _very_ strict undercurrent to the monster's rumbling voice, one that made Ruby take yet another step back. " _ **What did you see, human?**_ "

"N-Nothing!" Ruby answered honestly. "A forest, I think? Y-Yes - a forest, and shiny rocks and people dancing. I… I didn't understand, I _still_ don't understand…" She said, taking another step back as she saw the monster's eyes narrow even more. Its cheek moved, in a way suggesting it was frowning. "…Please don't hurt me…"

The monster's stare persisted for but a moment longer – before its violet eyes fluttered closed and it loosed a tired sigh. " _ **Even if you do not understand,**_ " it spoke slowly, " _ **you must know that**_ **nobody** _ **may know of what happened here. Do you understand**_ **that** _ **, human?**_ " Ruby, to her credit, managed to nod without squeaking. The Leader held out its gauntleted hand, with the fabric of the lost linen pouch lain over it – it had apparently retrieved the little bag already. " _ **Give it here, then.**_ "

Gulping once, Ruby quickly scanned the giant warrior's posture. For what, she didn't know – wariness merely told her to. It didn't _look_ like it was going to attack her. Sure, it still had that giant spear in hand, but it was pointing to the _sky_. It was all but planted in the snow. Nodding meekly, she took one step forward, then another, slowly extending her arms as she walked.

And just before she came close enough to drop the artefact into the Leader's hand…

…her finger grazed an exposed part of the orb.

It was minor this time – a quick jolt of pain followed by the shortest _flash_ of premonition. On an amber background she saw a detailed silhouette of the Leader's form; it reached out and took the orb from her, its giant hand wrapping the opened linen pouch around it –

And its other hand _surged_ forward, driving the tip of that horrid spear right into Ruby's –

With a yelp she hopped backwards, one arm pressing the red bundle to her chest as the other hand grasped at her throat, a panicked, almost _instinctive_ attempt to grab at a wound that wasn't even there. Her yell had put the warrior on edge – it had taken a step back, and had a look of alarm on its face – but Ruby didn't care.

Her hand still clutched at her throat, her breathing crazed and laboured.

Tears stung at her eyes, and she tried blinking them back.

This thing… This thing was going to kill her.

" _ **What?**_ " The warrior's tone was cautious, alarmed, even. " _ **What did you-**_ "

" _You liar!_ " Ruby shrieked, ducking her head down and _shooting_ forwards in a burst of rose petals. She bolted through the opening between the giant's legs, adrenaline fuelling her surge forward as she ran, ignoring the Leader's alarmed cry. Her sudden disappearance should buy her enough time to shake the thing off completely. She could get home, then, and hide the orb – maybe bury it in the backyard or something, she didn't know.

She snaked in-between the blackened tree trunks, yelping when she heard the deadened oaks and firs behind her _shattering_ under the Leader's pursuit – an _enraged_ pursuit at that, going by the roars he was uttering. She didn't dare look back, or to her sides. She focused _solely_ on escaping the forest and the war within it, and finding help – Dad and Yang and Uncle Qrow could protect her from the ugly fighters, right?

She heard howls around her, and the sounds of fighting. She altered her course slightly, hoping to evade the battle she might be approaching, and kept skirting around the larger trees she came across.

Then, be it through fear-fuelled mania or teary eyes, she misjudged how high one of the exposed tree roots had reached.

Her foot snagged on the offending root, and Ruby yelped as she was sent tumbling forwards. The snow cushioning her fall broke away, and the young girl started sliding down a snowy hill, uttering a series of yips and short screeches as she almost cartwheeled towards the bottom. Her arms clutched the red bundle to her chest in a vice grip, making sure the orb itself was pinned sturdily enough to prevent it from flying out of her grasp, until she smashed down on the snow of an exposed clearing with a loud _'oof!_ '. The fall took most of the wind out of her sails, and she thought there might be a bruise on her chest where she fell on the stupid, stupid ball, but not even that could keep her down.

Ruby was back on her feet within moments.

And yet, just before she could rocket off in a burst of her Semblance, one of the trees surrounding the small clearing crashed inwards, and that giant, familiar figure landed in the centre once more, kicking up snow as it landed.

Ruby took several steps back as she locked eyes with those violent purple orbs again. She tried to frown in defiance despite the tear tracks running down her cheeks, and tried to puff out her cheeks too. The Leader Ugly gazed at her with a mix of anger and confusion, but didn't say a word. Instead, it merely steadied its spear once again, and grabbed hold of its linen pouch with its other hand.

" _ **I do not know what madness overtook you,**_ " it spoke, its tone venomous and stern. " _ **Nor do I care. I… I will not hurt you, child. I**_ **cannot** _**hurt you.**_ " It took a step forward, and Ruby responded by taking a three steps back. It frowned at this. " _ **You do not know what danger rests in your cloak,**_ " it said darkly, taking another step forward, and again, Ruby responded by taking three steps back. Her back bumped against the cold, dead bark of a tree, and despite her most valiant efforts her glare faltered, turning into a hopeless look of despair. " _ **No tragedy needs to come from this, human,**_ " the Leader said warily, stopping in its tracks. The arm that held the spear suddenly extended to the side, and with a clink of an armoured hand, the weapon was released, and it fell to the snow with an audible thud. " _ **Just give me the orb,**_ " it spoke, holding out its hand, " _ **and we can forget this ever happened.**_ " It paused, looking at her. " _ **Do you not yearn for home? For your**_ **family** _ **? You are closer to them than you think – just give me the orb, and I swear to you, on the Council's name, I will let you leave.**_ "

Ruby had no idea what council the Ugly was referring to – Dad had talked about one sometimes… Uncle Qrow had, as well. If… If this monster knew them, then… then maybe it wasn't going to try and kill her after all? She made a pained face as she weighed her options. The vision of the attack was still fresh in her mind, as was the ghostly sting in her throat.

An outright _brutal_ explosion in the distance cut off her train of thought, and both she and the Leader whipped their heads in the direction of the disturbance. No fire, no smoke – but the crimson light blazing through the trees and obscuring everything near its source was almost _blinding_ to the two. Another explosion followed, and the bright crimson light was matched and almost _snuffed_ by rays of silvery-black that seemed to _glow_ , swallowing light instead of emitting it.

Then came the cries, and the screams, and the wails.

Ruby gulped as she listened.

What had once been a war had turned into a _slaughter_.

And throughout the cacophony, throughout the sounds of massacre, throughout the sounds of rending flesh and snapping bone, of shattering bark and groaning wood, of steel on steel and sizzling fire – the loud, threatening neighing of two warhorses rose above it all; an animalistic chorus to drown out the din of the dying.

" _ **Two…**_ " the Leader mumbled. The word made Ruby turn her attention back to him, and her heart dropped _right_ to her stomach when she saw all the rage and hatred and fatigue in those once sharp purple eyes had turned into nothing but pure, primal _fear_.

"W-What's happening?" Ruby asked worriedly, looking from the Leader to the slaughter in the distance, and back again. "Wh-What is that?!"

" _ **Nothing that will aid us,**_ " the Leader replied sombrely. His head whipped back to her, eyes manic with terror. " _ **Please, little one… Our time runs short. Give me the orb!**_ "

Ruby regarded him warily, eyes quivering from fear and exhaustion. "Y-You… You promise you won't hurt me?" She asked meekly, keeping the crimson bundle containing the orb pressed to her chest.

" _ **The future is not set in stone**_ ," the Leader replied, taking another step forward. " _ **You saw a possibility, little one – a possibility I would**_ **die** _ **to avert!**_ " His voice rose by several octaves as he spoke. " _ **Hurry… If those steeds reach us, then… There**_ **will** _ **be blood.**_ "

That was enough to spur Ruby into moving, despite her fear and trepidation. Slowly, she moved forward, step by trembling step, keeping the bundle pinned to her chest. The Leader saw this, and readied the small linen pouch – it was held open in such a way that Ruby needed only to drop the small bronze thing into it. Halfway there Ruby extended her arms, wincing slightly – _Yup. Definitely a bruise…_ \- but kept a firm grip on the bundle nonetheless. She counted the steps as she went – twelve steps to go, twelve steps before she could turn her back on this and just _forget_.

Eleven steps.

Ten steps.

Nine steps.

 _Eight steps…_

And just before she could take the seventh step, the shadows themselves came alive.

With bloodthirsty howls, the creatures of Grimm flooded into the clearing. Spittle oozed from their gaping maws and their red eyes stretched so wide they looked downright _insane_. Any semblance of a pack formation had been thrown right to the wind. The Beowolves wanted blood…

…and this time, Ruby realised with a loud wail, they wanted _hers_.

The Leader before her _roared_ and sprang to action, closing the distance between them with three swift, lumbering steps. Its armoured arm shot outwards just as three Beowolves leapt at Ruby, and as a result their claws met dark steel instead of tender human flesh. With a loud bellow, the Leader used its arm to hurl the Beowolves out of the clearing, catching another by the leg with its free hand and using it as a club to bludgeon the other Grimm away.

Ruby panicked at the sight of the Grimm – she had hoped they wouldn't notice her, but it seemed her luck had finally come to an end. Pinning the bundle to her chest with her right hand, she moved her left to seize her scythe, so she could at least _try_ to fight back, however poor she was at the time. Her hand, however, grasped nothing but air, and with a whine of horror Ruby realised she had left her scythe at the spot she'd recovered the orb.

Another mighty swing of the Leader's fist sent another Beowolf crashing into the woods, and its free hand had scooped up its spear. Several crescent swipes cut down the Grimm by scores, and a few more well-aimed thrusts dropped those Beowolves clever enough to know how to evade.

Despite all this, however, the Leader was quickly being overwhelmed.

With panicked breaths, Ruby scurried about, trying to evade the few Beowolves that prioritised her over the armoured warrior. She'd duck into the hollow crevices beneath the trees, scampering out the other side just as Grimm claws raked at the ground behind her, and she kept her body tensed and ready to drop to the ground at a moment's notice, evading any who took the chance to lunge at her.

But already, the adrenaline started to leave her – at the _worst_ possible moment – and once again, fatigue and numbness set in.

Ruby's movements started getting sloppy. She'd knock her head and scrape her back whenever she dove into those nooks beneath the tree roots, and it would take her _precious_ seconds longer to rise to her feet whenever she would evade the Grimm by dropping down. They started circling her, as though they _smelled_ her weariness, and her tired silver eyes conveyed naught but panic as they corralled her to the centre of the clearing.

After a particularly tumultuous struggle returning to her feet, Ruby blinked tiredly – and noticed she was surrounded.

Seven Beowolves circled her, cutting off all avenues of escape, growling and snarling as they moved. She could hear the Leader behind her – if she wasn't hearing things it sounded like he had even _more_ to deal with. Despite it all, though – despite the growing fear and fatigue, and despite feeling like she could fall over at any given moment – she still clutched the red bundle to her chest.

Her legs gave in, suddenly – her knees shook and wobbled and collapsed under her miniscule frame, and Ruby found herself kneeling almost waist deep in snow. Yet another Beowolf's disintegrating carcass flew over her as the Leader Ugly tried to fend off the insurmountable odds, but those surrounding Ruby barely paid it any mind. They kept circling her, tongues lolling about as they loosed ragged, bloodthirsty breaths.

She fumbled with the red bundle in her hands, dropping it to the ground as she worked towards re-doing her cloak. Despite the cold numbing her fingers and the panic tugging at her tiny heart, she worked deftly – or as deftly as a seven-year old could – to turn her trusty red cape and the orb held within it into something she could use, if only just to keep the Beowolves away until the Leader won _his_ fights.

So frantic and panicked was she that she completely missed the fact she'd stopped referring to the demonic warrior as _it_.

A Beowolf reared back then, ready to lunge, and Ruby finished not a moment too soon – just as it surged forward, Ruby poured as much strength as her tiny self could muster into her arm, and _swung_ the cape-and-ball combo as though it were a flail of sorts. It managed to strike the lupine beast clean on the snout, and against all odds and logic, the beast yelped and hopped back. The end of her makeshift flail thumped down into the snow, and with almost herculean effort Ruby managed to pull it back and ready for another strike.

She swung again as another Beowolf made the mistake of coming too close – what had once been whimpers and groans of terror had turned into grunts of exertions and small, adorable noises of determination, and once again those silver eyes had settled into the tiniest of frowns. A third swing dissuaded another Beowolf from coming too close, but Ruby now realised the lupine monsters were getting _tired_ of playing games. This was made more than evident when she swung her flail for the fourth time – a Beowolf that had grown quite agitated from the cat-and-mouse tempo slashed at the hastily created weapon, and its claws raked giant openings across the red fabric.

Ruby couldn't precisely place the sound she made when she saw her beloved cloak torn apart, nor could she place the noise she made when she saw that ever-alluring bronze orb tumble to the snow.

What she _did_ realise, without a doubt and despite the orb's hypnotic glow already taking her, was that she had been all but forgotten by the Grimm – their manic red eyes left her and locked onto the glowing sphere the _moment_ it had left her cape's crimson constraints, and their mania seemed to increase _tenfold_ at the sight of it. All seven of the maddened beasts leapt at once, fangs bared and claws arced, intend on reducing that bronze sphere to nothing but _tiny little shards_.

Several paws struck in unison…

… And with a loud _tink_ , a single claw pierced the flimsy bronze metal – and what was once golden light shone the colour of blood.

For a _fraction_ of a second, the orb glowed _red_ in defiance of the attack; the sudden crimson light illuminated a sneering face engraved into the steel, a four-eyed monstrosity baring three rows of fangs at whatever being was foolish enough to strike it – and as the orb seemed to _howl_ with rage, the light _burst_ outwards with enough force to make a sound akin to a thunderclap.

Ruby went from smiling dreamily to screaming in surprise as a shockwave the likes of which she had only _read_ about in tales of the Huntsmen of old erupted from the now-red sphere before her. The orb's hypnotic spell vanished as a wall of snow rose around the whirlwind of force enveloping her, and the Grimm that had once surrounded her were outright _cut apart_ by the force before being hurled into the forest around them. The force from the sudden shockwave made Ruby's eyes water, and it was only through sheer force of will, through that adrenaline rush accompanying the realisation of renewed, perilous threat that she managed to keep her eyes open.

The crimson light intensified yet again, and to Ruby's horror she realised that the orb was slowly flaking, and cracking apart in the forest's snowy embrace. The engravings and etchings lining the bronze surface shifted and danced and moved like water – before reforming into a frowning, four-eyed face, menacingly smirking right at her.

Then she heard a laugh from the orb, and that smirk seemed to grow that much wider for it –

And there where it lay, half-buried in the snow in the eye of a phantasmal storm, the orb _exploded_.

Ruby's head whipped back with such force she felt the muscles in her neck getting sprained. The crimson light _surged_ into her eyes, stinging and burning as it started blotting out her vision. Her mouth was open, she realised, but she didn't know if she was screaming – she knew only the violent pain in her eyes that cut _right_ into her mind.

The last sight she saw before the crimson light completely swallowed her surroundings was Remnant's shattered moon hanging above her, almost sombrely.

And as Ruby Rose's mind lost itself, however briefly, to the Past, the Present and the Future…

…Creation itself bared its secrets to her.

* * *

It started simply, upon that familiar amber void – a single world, hovering in the nothingness, a black splotch on a blank slate. Before confused silver eyes, it drifted alone, a sumptuous place of ever-green pastures, bright blue skies, valiant mountains and the purest of cool springs.

More followed then, appearing all over Creation's canvas. She saw worlds of teeming, verdant forests and worlds of dry, unforgiving deserts. Colossal figures with hands large enough to envelop a person whole sang their ancient songs as they laid the foundations of existence itself. Under their touch, entire worlds were hewn from lifeless stone, and bleak horizons and endless stretches of nothing became beautiful under their ever-dedicated task of _creating_.

She saw a wondrous citadel of gold, a city so pristine, so _breathtakingly_ beautiful its light seemed to drown out the very blackness of the ink outlining it. Towers of ivory and purest white marble rose high into the glowing clouds, and waters bright enough to appear amber in the golden light flowed through the aqueducts, its purity breathing life into greens so vibrant they complimented the golds, whites and yellows _perfectly_.

She saw a terrifying keep of darkest black, a stronghold adorned with spikes and chains, resembling a fortress more than anything. It seemed to intensify the shadowy ink illustrating it, swallowing anything close to light – even that stemming from the roiling fires rising from the charred and blackened world's molten blood. The sky itself was the colour of blood, red tainted by splotches of black smoke and sulphur rising from the streams of magma flowing through the dark spires.

And then she saw these two worlds _clash_.

All of Creation trembled as righteous light met sinister darkness in head-on combat. The reverberations of _millions_ of weapons clashing, gold and white and blue against bone and orange and jet, shook entire realms to their cores, and the horror of this _forever war_ was defined not by how many people suffered from it, but from how many _worlds_ returned to the ash and nothingness they were under the endless battle swallowing every inch of creation.

Then, from amidst the ashes in the forever war's wake, life emerged from the remnants of senseless destruction and death. They were a tiny people, she saw; small and frail and afraid and confused… but their presence in Creation, despite their minute size and strength, brought about the greatest change in millennia.

She saw the armies of light and darkness desist, and the great battles of the Forever War ended upon this tiny, furtive people's birth. Swords of gold and axes of steel were implanted into the earth of the first world swallowed by the destruction of the White Towers and the Black Spires, and while there was no peace between factions, the truce ensured no wars would persist.

She saw monsters and beautiful winged beings both kneel, as the thundering of hooves echoed across the visages sketched by the shadowy ink. She saw four riders, four great warriors upon menacing steeds, charging through the warring sides with weapons bared…

…and finally she saw seven great mountains overseeing it all, each with a charred face inscribed into it. Burning fires illuminated the tunnels comprising their mouths and eyes, features set into a permanent sneer as they used the four riders to enforce the truce set in motion.

And while she was hovering in that dreamlike state, untouched by all things physical…

…Ruby Rose could have sworn she saw those seven sneering faces looking _right at her_.

* * *

With an outraged growl, the last of the Soulless in the clearing fell, and were it not for his desperation to try and salvage what little could be salvaged, the demonic General would have fallen to his knees then and there. The bark-like faceplate of his own helm was missing its left side, and both his horns had been lost in the fray – painful experiences well-suited as reminders of his own failures. With a grunt he wrenched his spear free of the last Soulless that had made the mistake of attacking him, and strode to where that terrifying storm had erupted.

Upon seeing what had caused that great storm of gale winds, his will and hope both shattered into small shards, not at all unlike the small flecks of bronze laying on the snow.

He dropped to his knees then, tossing his spear aside as he futilely grabbed handfuls of snow, hoping to gather up enough of the all-seeing artefact to at least _try_ to put it back together – but he knew, he was merely trying to alleviate his own despair.

He had failed both his mission and his Master…

…and the punishment of cruel, inglorious death was all too certain.

A soft squeak, sounding almost _pained_ , drew his attention from the shattered artefact, and he saw that same red-clad little human squirming off to the side. Her tiny body jerked and twitched erratically as her head lolled from side to side, and a thin line of drool leaked from the side of her mouth as her eyes rolled around in their sockets.

 _Her eyes…_

They shone with that same golden glow the orb had shone with, the glow that could enrapture even the most tenacious of minds with envenomed promises of the secrets of time and creation itself, past, present and future. Instead of that terrible, terrible power being locked away in an artefact, a bronze prison ensuring it could harm no-one…

Now it would assail and curse the mind of a young human _child_.

His shoulders slumped as the last of his hope shrivelled up and died.

His negligence had created a curse – an affliction on a denizen of the Third Kingdom and an _absolute_ violation of the Balance.

If his Master did not kill him… then the New Council would surely have him put to death.

The distant sounds of slaughter after the two Riders' arrival had died down. Even now he heard the last few desperate battles around him – undoubtedly what remained of his men had taken up arms against the Enforcers. That meant what remained of his men would soon perish – and if there were two of the Enforcers here… diplomacy was not an option.

Three possibilities could occur – and all three ended in his death.

He cursed all of creation under his breath.

Only then did he hear the snow shuffling underfoot, and only then did he see the looming shadow flowing into the moonlit clearing from the deadened trees around them. He turned to cast a baleful glare at the Enforcer sent to punish him. Black and gold clothing contrasted pale, exposed flesh, a sight almost tantalising had it not belonged to a harbinger of the End War. The woman's deep purple hair cascaded down past her shoulders, and a few stray strands hung down across her forehead and into a scowl that could put even the Mad Queen, Lilith, to shame. Full, dark lips contorted into an expression of distaste, and those eyes – they conveyed the woman's task quite clearly.

" _ **Fury…**_ " He muttered, exhaling. So the Rider of the Black Horse had come to slay him. Dying to something as foppish as a magical whip… What an undignified end.

"Know that I am in no mood for banter, demon," the Black Rider said, her voice fierce and venomous, and just a _slight_ bit fatigued. "Where is the orb?"

The General snorted. After all his efforts and struggles, fleeing from the Horsemen across six realms and using tactical genius to delay them long enough to come _this far_ … and all he warranted was a condescending tone and a sharp demand of answers. " _ **It is lost… to both of us,**_ " he said morosely, seizing his spear and rising to his feet. He swayed a bit as he stood, but kept his posture as rigid as he could. " _ **I hear the dying wails of my warriors and the Soulless both… What fate befalls them?**_ "

"War deals with your men as we speak," Fury said hotly, as the clawed tips of her gauntlets swished in the cold air, and she turned her stern gaze to the small girl twitching behind the General. "The orb is 'gone' and a human girl lays spasming behind you. Explain yourself, demon – and do not dally in doing so. You have _wasted_ enough of my time, making me pursue you this far."

The General frowned at her, but acquiesced regardless. " _ **We were making for a world long taken by the Abyss when we fell into the Remnant of the Third Kingdom,**_ " he said honestly, forgoing the need for fabrication and deceit – they would be of little aid now. " _ **The Soulless were drawn to the orb, and to us. They attacked the moment we landed. The girl… I know not where she came from. She was here when we arrived – an unfortunate victim of circums-**_ "

"You are digressing, demon," Fury cut him off with a vicious tone. " _Every_ human who gets involved with one of your kind is a victim of circumstance. _Get to the point._ "

The General bristled, gripping his weapon ever tighter at the Rider's insulting attitude towards him. Nonetheless… he stayed his hand. Fury was the hardest of the Four to anger, but when her rage was sufficiently stoked… He knew better than to draw that power out. " _ **One of the Soulless knocked the orb from my person,**_ " he said slowly. " _ **The girl… She saw the orb, and laid a hand on it. Entranced, no doubt."**_

"The girl saw the future," Fury summarised, casting a concerned glance to the human's fallen form. Her gaze softened the _slightest_ bit, and the gesture served only to make the General's blood boil. She spoke to him as though he was _trash_ , but she would look at a _human_ with such a sympathetic expression?!

" _ **She saw**_ **a** _ **future!**_ " The General barked, taking an aggressive step forward and bringing his weapon to bear. This display, unfortunately, barely made the Horseman look at him. It was as though he were as insignificant as a grunt… which he might as well be, before one of the Four. " _ **You know better than anyone that 'Fate' is**_ **not** _ **absolute, Rider!**_ " He bellowed. " _ **'Fate' decreed that one of your brothers**_ **rotted** _ **in the Abyss and**_ **died** _ **for his crimes, while another would**_ **perish** _ **at the Well of Souls! Yet both of them live… This is no diff-**_ "

"What did she see?" Fury cut him off again, finally turning to face him. Her scowl had returned the moment she laid eyes on him. "I found a scythe not too far from here, human-made apparently. She ran, didn't she?" the Black Rider asked. "What did she see?" She repeated.

" _ **A possibility! One of**_ **many** _ **paths the future**_ **could** _ **have taken!"**_ The General roared, before calming down, sighing dejectedly and covering his face with his hand. " _ **She saw a future where I struck her down after obtaining the orb from her…**_ " he said softly. " _ **I would have done no such thing… But madness and terror had gripped her already. She fled, and lost the orb… One of the Soulless shattered it, and… Now she is blighted by the same curse that artefact contained… Cursed, by my own negligence."**_

 _That_ served to draw a response from the Rider. Her scowl all but disappeared as a look of shock and muted horror crossed her features, and her lips parted as her jaw slackened ever so slightly. The ever curt, ever dutiful Fury, rendered speechless by something the General himself had done… Truly, his failure must have been catastrophic. "I hope for your sake," she spoke, her expression suddenly becoming very, _very_ deadly, "that this is a joke, demon…"

" _ **It is no jest**_ **,** " the General spoke. The mere fact that the current circumstances could serve to draw such a seething reaction from one of the Horsemen spoke _volumes_ of the severity of the current situation. He shivered slightly – had it been the Rider of the White Horse standing there, he would have been dead already, ingloriously executed at gunpoint. " _ **I know not the severity of the curse that will afflict her…**_ " he said. " _ **But I am certain she will see visions showing her things a child of the Third Kingdom**_ **should not** _ **know.**_ "

Fury's violent expression persisted for all of a handful of seconds before she inhaled deeply, calming herself and setting her expression into its default frown. "This… is beyond my judgement now," she said softly, her normally fierce voice now restrained and tempered. "Your actions directly affect Man's Kingdom, and its denizens. You are aware of what happens now, I assume."

The General frowned at her again. He knew all too well – now, he would be brought before the New Council, shackled and weakened, where he would offer his own testimony before his inevitable execution was ordered. The New Council was a great deal more lenient than the Old, but in the same vein they were a great deal more extreme – _especially_ regarding offenses to the Remnant of the Third Kingdom. " _ **I know I will die like a hound, no matter what path I choose,**_ " he spoke, raged bleeding through the low octaves his voice had dropped to. " _ **I, a General of the Second Kingdom, am to be shackled and killed like trash? No…**_ " With a _violent_ jerk he readied his spear, pointing its barbed tip right at the Black Rider's throat. The gesture seemed only to make her frown deepen. The barest _hints_ of smoky black flickered across her eyes, and the claws adorning her gauntlet glinted ominously. " _ **I will not die… like**_ **human scum** _ **!"**_ He roared. " _ **If I am to die… I will die a warrior's death – and**_ **you** _ **, Horseman, will be the one to grant it!**_ "

Fury's frown evolved into a baleful sneer, and with an elegant swish of her free arm, the ever ominous pink flames of her whip sizzled to life as she kept the weapon coiled in her hand, ready to strike in any direction at less than even a fraction of a moment's notice. "So be it, demon."

That one phrase was all it took.

With a wrathful roar, the General _leapt_ at the Rider of the Black Horse, spear poised to rip right into her heart.

* * *

After what seemed like an endless loop of confusing imagery and inky pictures, the tumultuous assault on her mind subsided long enough for Ruby to open her eyes again. The tears that had accumulated from the otherworldly strain blurred everything she saw, to such an extent that even the broken moon above seemed like nothing but a white splotch on black nothing. Every now and then amber would flash before her eyes as she tried to blink some form of clarity into existence, and her head throbbed agonisingly with every heartbeat.

With a pained whimper she tried to move. The snow around her had numbed her body and chilled her clothing, and the lances of pain that shot through her skull served only to make her quiver that much more. She was _exhausted_ , laying there – even moving her fingers took effort. Gritting her teeth and paying no mind to the low moan of agony she uttered, she rolled onto her stomach and tried getting up on her knees. While her lower body responded, her upper body didn't – and she found herself with her face pressed flush into the snow despite kneeling.

That dirty blank slate that seemed like old storybook paper swallowed up the darkness her closed eyes caused, and once more the shadowy ink formed an image – a scythe, so much like Uncle Qrow's, resting in tiny pale hands as a red cloak fluttered in a non-existent breeze.

The pain ricocheted through her skull again, and with a loud yelp Ruby propped herself up on all fours, shaking her head as she tried to dispel the ache. A battle raged in the distance, and every roar and clash of steel seemed to reverberate into the very core of her mind, making her flinch as she tried to clamber up to her feet. Her vision was still blurred, seeming to make the already bright canvas of snow seem _that_ much brighter – bright enough to make the back of her eyes ache.

Another amber flash – she saw great, multi-storeyed buildings of glass and concrete crumble and fall to the earth, and tiny, frail silhouettes ran for cover in mass panic whilst winged warriors battled horned monsters in the skies and on the ground.

She saw a courtyard in a cathedral, a perverted mockery of a holy place in a land of continuous downpour as giant bats soared overhead. A _titanic_ bat-like creature roared in rage as a lone warrior drew a _colossal_ blade, adorned with the sneering faces of its victims.

Another flash cleared the slate, and the ink went to work again – she saw more small silhouettes battling inside and around a colossal fortress, some seeming normal, some abnormal, sporting ears and tusks and claws and tails, and yet… their humanoid appearance was undoubted.

She saw a giant, crystalline palace in a land of eternal winter, surrounded by snowy gales and ever-persistent crows as mad mutters and insane ramblings echoed across the snowy plains, carried by the harshest, coldest winds.

Her vision cleared again, more blurred than before, and again that jolt of pain spawned in Ruby's forehead and travelled all the way down her spine – it was a wave of agony that nearly made her collapse all over again, and despite herself she failed to bite back the tortured sob that poured from her mouth. She remained there, on all fours, rolling her shoulders left and right, before bringing her one leg up and planting a foot firmly on the ground with a low, agonised growl. Her breathing was ragged, and her tiny frame shook like a leaf caught in a gale, and yet, the little girl persisted.

With a cross between a determined little bark and a yelp of pain, Ruby poured all her strength into that firmly-planted leg and _propelled_ herself to her feet. She sudden upwards movement caused white spots to appear in her vision, and she swayed dangerously where she stood. Her eyelids felt as though they weighed a ton, and every now and then her vision would turn black, and she would come _impossibly_ close to falling flat on her face again.

Again, the colour in her vision faded away, obscured by blank, dirty parchment and splotches of shadowy ink.

She saw a beautiful open clearing of lush greens and grey crags, _trampled_ underfoot by a _colossal_ warrior of stone wielding a hammer larger than she could even _imagine_ one being.

She saw a silhouette of steel, creaking and grinding as its outstretched hand grazed ever so slightly against an inky person of flesh, a gesture which was received and returned in kind – and the steely figure seemed to _glow_ because of it.

The canvas cleaned itself once more – she saw a crumbling ivory tower in the middle of a golden valley, its white walls tainted by fleshly blackness, as a sinister pair of scythes cut away at tumorous darkness wielding a staff so bright it nearly _blinded_ her.

And finally she saw a tunnel – a circular, one-way track left to ruin and disarray. A train barrelled down the ill-maintained line of tracks, a _wave_ of darkness personified nipping at its heels as it rocketed right towards a dead end…

…and in the midst of those carriages, Ruby saw a woman, clad in red and black and adorning a mask resembling a Grimm she had _never_ seen before. With a careful yet controlled movement, a dainty hand drew a _magnificent_ red curved blade from its sheath…

…and just as the sword telescoped outwards with an audible _click_ , the assault of images left Ruby again.

She blinked just as _something_ pink flew by before her vision, an audible _hiss_ reducing snow to water and splattering… _something_ black across the white nothingness spanning the floors of Patch's forests. An outright _agonised_ roar shook the clearing with enough force to make Ruby stumble sideways, clutching at her ears and nearly losing her footing.

There was still a battle going on. She had to leave – _quickly_.

Staggering drunkenly, Ruby moved forward. Even putting one foot before the other was an almost abyssal chore, and with every step she found her eyes fluttering closed for longer periods of time. Her head ached and her body trembled, and despite herself, despite not even _registering_ the action, her fingers seemed to arch outwards, trying to grasp the familiar, warm folds of her red cloak.

Another sizzling sound reached her ears, and another roar echoed across the clearing, but… This one was different, she noticed in her dreamy haze. The last one was angry – _very_ angry – but this one, it sounded more… _frightened_ , honestly. Just as her eyes fluttered closed again, the roar cut out with a sickening, almost _grotesque_ snap – the sound was horrifying enough to make Ruby's eyes snap open. She heard something sailing through the air, and with a soft _thud_ , a singed, charred helmet landed before her, with half its bark-like faceplate missing. It oozed black ichor, and three clear-cut punctures lined the side of the headgear.

 _Oh_ , she thought, somewhat lamely, blinking tiredly.

That was the Leader Ugly's helmet.

But that… that meant…

She pitched forwards then, almost toppling over before regaining her balance with a muted groan. Her body tipped back, and despite her fatigue and haziness Ruby found herself backpedalling in tandem in a bid to try and maintain what little balance she had. The Leader Ugly had lost, so she was in danger… wasn't she?

She finally regained some of her balance, but unfortunately for her, her silver eyes were _closed_ far more frequently than they were _open_ by now. She looked down dumbly, eyeing the snow through burning eyes and blurry vision. Snow was soft, right? And it wasn't like could feel the cold anymore – she couldn't feel _anything_ anymore, to be honest.

Surely it wouldn't hurt if just… took a short nap? Just long enough to get her strength back… Then she could go home…

Yes… That sounded ideal.

That was about as far as she got. Slowly, she started tipping forwards, gazing at the snow through half-lidded eyes. Already she uttered a single, soft snore despite her eyes not even being properly closed, and then…

A loud _clink_ met her ears as a strong embrace caught her. With a dazed, confused mumble of mixed and imaginary words, exhausted silver eyes opened a mere _hint_ wider, just in time to catch a glint of red from their peripherals as the familiar warmth of her cloak encompassed her again. _My caaaaaape…_ She thought childishly as a dopey smile bloomed on her face. Whoever had caught her before she fell took that opportunity to lift her tiny self out of the ankle-deep snow, and a sense of _warmth_ so mind-numbingly blissful spread through her like wildfire.

She giggled tiredly as she was carried away, and tried snuggling further into the comforting warmth. The embrace seemed to persist even after Ruby felt herself being laid down on a warm patch of _something_ , a few meters from where she had been picked up. Oddly enough, though, she couldn't care – she merely gripped at her cloak, spinning it tighter around herself, and cracked a single eye open to gaze at whoever gave this _lovely warm feeling_.

She beheld a worried woman's pale face, with black markings across her forehead and cheekbones, and a mop of purple hair framing her concerned expression. Ruby giggled sleepily again, keeping one eye open as she looked at her saviour's face as all the energy left her, replaced by that comfortably warm, contented feeling. _She's pretty… is she an angel?_ Ruby thought hazily, her lone open eye starting to flutter closed. _Then… where are her wings?_

 _Shouldn't she have wings…?_

Ruby's eye closed entirely, and dream-inducing darkness took her almost immediately.

… _is she an angel?_

* * *

With a last, almost inaudible giggle, the young red-clad girl before her drifted off to sleep, surrounded by small wisps of her wrath's dark-flamed manifestation.

Fury made sure the small, tattered red cloak was firmly affixed as she knelt beside the slumbering human child, taking painstaking care in making sure the black flames of her power didn't stray close enough to set the crimson garb alight. With a slightly fatigued sigh, she reared back and rolled her shoulders, making a face as several loud _pops_ came from her back. Her gaze, normally cast into a perpetual frown, had softened into a look of sympathy, and the barest, _barest_ hint of regret.

She had spent the better part of almost four decades pursuing that demon, across six separate realms. She had encountered _staggering_ resistance – the cur had amassed _every single one_ of his fifteen thousand warriors to try and keep her at bay and escape with that dangerous artefact.

All that effort… and it ended up like _this_.

She sighed again as she saw the tremors rock the small human's body anew, and deftly, her hands conjured a sharp-looking crystal glowing a relaxing shade of green. The souls of her slain enemies… She had intended for them to heal her, should the need arise. But it did not – and now this young child could use it better than the Black Rider ever could. With a single twist, Fury shattered the green gem, and watched as the emerald souls within floated down to the child with an eerie, almost distant wail.

She barely paid any mind to the heavy footsteps that stomped into the clearing to accompany her – she kept her gaze on the young human as the souls of the fallen bolstered the healing process.

"So a human girl was caught in the fray…" Fury finally turned to face the speaker as the deep voice spilled across the clearing. Clad in his usual red garb and ornate armour, War kept his hooded gaze on the girl as well, his own frown never leaving his face. The Red Rider looked no worse for wear – even after facing both scores of demons _and_ the Soulless. "Is that why the General lies slain?"

"He attacked," Fury muttered, turning her gaze back to the human. "Claimed he wished for a 'warrior's death'."

"And instead, he was granted a fool's demise," War responded, sparing a single, condescending glance towards the demon's decapitated corpse before turning back. "The cursed artefact is lost, I take it."

"Indeed it is," Fury said, still kneeling beside the child. "It was destroyed in the battle between the demons and the Soulless. It's curse… It now blights this child's existence. I saw her eyes flashing earlier, with that same _damnable_ light that made the blasted thing so valuable to Hell's legions." She trailed off, keeping her gaze on the child's slumbering form, before her eyes fluttered shut and she loosed an exhausted sigh. "…The Old Council would have seen this as a failure."

"Fortunate, then," War spoke, "that the Old Council's memory now rots in oblivion." Fury did not miss the hint of bitterness in her younger sibling's voice as he strode over to the General's fallen form. The Old Council was a sore spot for War – and nobody could hold him accountable, after what they did to him. The Red Rider held his giant prosthetic arm above the slain General's corpse, and the sneering face etched into it seemed to _smile_ as the demon's soul was pulled from its body and pooled between War's fingers. With a grunt, he strode back to Fury and the fallen child, and sat on his haunches besides them both.

"…The things she will see… We cannot keep Creation, and the laws of the Balance hidden from her. She will realise, sooner or later." Fury said, looking to her brother. "… What do we do now?"

"Now," War spoke, holding the demon's soul out for her to take. "Now you take this soul to Death. Give it to him, debrief him… and go rest, sister," he said, his voice becoming just a _bare_ hint softer. "It would seem you need it."

"And what of the girl?" Fury snapped, frowning. "Do we just _leave_ her here?"

"I will remain," War answered, turning his gaze to the child, "until the Council has reached a verdict regarding her. They know we are not murderers, sister – the chances of them putting this girl to death are very, _very_ low."

"You know as well as I do how extreme the New Council can be regardless, War," Fury said, a look of distaste on her face. "Man is kept unaware of the Balance, and of Creation's worlds, for a reason. What this girl will see… It could greatly threaten the Balance. We are not murderers, brother… But we are Enforcers. And last time the Council voted on inaction in the face of someone threatening the Balance…" She trailed off, remembering War's imprisonment and exile to the Third Kingdom all too well. "Would murder truly be such an extreme, in the face of preventing such a calamity again?"

"Death knows how to work with the New Council, sister," War spoke, his eyes never leaving the human child's sleeping form. "He will find a way to reach the most reasonable outcome. He always has, ever since he was bound to the Council Stone…" He said. "He has yet to fail us once, sister. Have faith – if not in the New Council, then in our brother."

Fury seemed hesitant despite her brother's words, but nonetheless complied, however unwilling she may have been. With another sigh she rose to her feet, taking the writhing soul out of War's hand and silencing it with a quick clench of her fist. She did not want to do this – she could not tell herself that enough. But War's words had truth in them – Death was nothing if not proficient when it came to dealing with the New Council.

Black light simmered behind her as her great war steed burst into existence with a loud neigh. Vengeance's appearance mirrored his owner closely – its skin was dark as night, and its tail and mane burned bright purple. The spectral steed gave his owner a look that almost seemed _concerned_ , before shaking itself and steadying, ready to carry her forth to the Council Stone.

With a final glance towards the sleeping human, Fury shook her head and quickly mounted Vengeance, one hand gripping the reins while the other called forth her enchanted whip. The steed whinnied under Fury's familiar weight, trotting from side to side before rearing back on his hind legs and neighing loudly. Fury looked back to War, who had risen to his full intimidating height, and saw her brother nod to her once. She nodded in kind, and with a single nudge from her heels to Vengeance's sides, the stallion charged off, melting snow under his unstoppable charge.

War stood silently, unmoving in his vigil as he heard his sister's steed disappear into the distance. He caught the shadows dancing and moving from his peripheral vision, teeth bared and red eyes _hungry._ Frowning, the Red Rider responded in kind – his normal arm reached up and backwards, seizing Chaoseater's hilt firmly in hand, and with a single, deft moving belying the gigantic blade's tremendous weight, he brought it to bear and planted its tip into the snow, a silent challenge and warning to the Soulless who would _dare_ try to attack his charge.

The girl had suffered enough, he thought absently. She was destined for a difficult life now, with eyes that could see into Creation's past and future blighting her soul. The Soulless would be a constant danger – she would have to face them many, many times in her life…

…But not today.

Not while _he_ was watching.

* * *

"I half expected you to punish my sister… Paranoia is a tenacious beast."

With a simple flick of his wrists, the writhing spectral form of the demonic general before him evaporated, returning to that misty, wailing skull it was when Fury had brought the pathetic being's soul to him. He held fast, gazing at the despairing face carved into the soul from beneath his own skull-shaped mask, red eyes merciless and uncaring, before stowing the damned spirit away, making a note have it sent to the Kingdom of the Dead for judgement… whenever he actually bothered remembering to do so. "Forgive me. I am still getting used to seeing a merciful Charred Council," Death said dryly, looking at the seven stone faces surrounding him.

" _Fury was not at fault,_ " one of the Councillors spoke, its raspy, serpentine voice booming across the dull, dark expanse of the Council Stone. " _The guilty party has been identified, judged and put to death for his actions. Had the demon not fled like a coward we would not be dealing with this matter now."_

"'This matter' being the human girl cursed by the artefact Fury was tasked to retrieve," Death spoke, folding his hands behind his back. "Fury fears you will have her put to death, and War maintains a stern vigil over her until you reach a verdict. I believe Fury's fears are irrational, though… Many angels and demons have plummeted through the walls separating the Third Kingdom from Creation before, and many humans were unfortunate enough to have to meet them. Yet _most_ of those humans were spared," he summarised. "I dare not presume to question you, but I _am_ interested in how you will deal with this matter, if not through summary execution."

" _The girl was cursed due to circumstances beyond her control,"_ another of the Councillors spoke, this one's voice smoother, deeper. " _The circumstances were beyond anyone's control, in actuality. The armies of Heaven and the legions of Hell did not march through the Tree of Life when the premature apocalypse was triggered so many centuries ago. They broke clean through the walls of the Third Kingdom, intent on making it a battleground. It is only reasonable to assume those walls have suffered… irreparable damage, under the two Kingdoms' onslaught."_

" _It is because of that damage,"_ another Councillor hissed, " _that the guilty party even made it into the Third Kingdom. We, as one, understand that responding to each such event with lethal force and summary punishment is unreasonable, even for the Charred Council."_

"So the girl will not be punished," Death pondered, tapping a finger against the chin of his mask. "That, at least, will relieve Fury. I am not so foolish, however, to believe that the girl will be cast aside and ignored. She will, after all, be seeing glimpses of Creation's past and future. There are very few secrets she will not know, given time and the patience to decipher them, Councillors, and as much as it _irks_ me to admit it, human Seers have a tendency of going _mad_."

" _Madness is the least of the threats the girl's existence poses, Pale Rider,_ " another Councillor to the far right barked at him. " _Have you forgotten what happened last time a being learned of the intricacies of the Balance, and the law that upholds it? Have you forgotten how the_ _ **Remnant**_ _of the Third Kingdom came to be?"_ It asked the Horseman. " _We assume much in thinking the girl could grow up to be a threat to the balance – but it_ _ **is**_ _a possibility!"_

"If it's such a terrifying possibility," Death spoke with a shrug, "then I see no reason for you _not_ to work towards averting it at all costs. Fury's report states the girl is well-meaning enough – while I will not completely ignore the possibility of her _endangering_ the Balance in the near future," he said with a slight frown, "I will not disregard the possibility of her _aiding_ that Balance either. She has as much a chance of going mad from her visions as she has of _mastering_ her curse and turning it into a boon for Man's Remnants."

" _Precisely,"_ the centre-most Councillor spoke up, its gravelly voice reverberating off the stone floor beneath Death's feet. " _The newly-created Seer in the Third Kingdom is a matter that warrants our attention across quite a long term, Pale Rider. We see her even now, lying curled up in the snow… There is an innocence about her, a purity in her heart – one that can either trump the curse of past and future sight… or shrivel and turn dark beneath its relentless assault. We do not know what path the future will take, Horseman. We do not know whether she will be an enemy or an ally of the Balance, or whether she will even care about it, at that."_

"I take it you have reached a verdict, then?" Death asked, gazing at the seven stone faces of the _new_ Charred Council. Their eyes and mouths lit up in unison, and remained that way for several moments, burning intensely as the seven Old Ones convened their minds and made their decision as one. Finally, the fires died down, and the centremost Councillor spoke again.

" _For now, we will leave the girl be,"_ it spoke, sounding calm and collected. " _We will not take action, and we will not directly influence her life – not unless she gives us reason to. We_ _ **will**_ _, however, be watching her closely. Creation cannot afford a second coming of Abbadon's foolishness or Absalom's Corruption – nor anything even_ _ **remotely**_ _resembling them. Can we trust the remaining Three not to meddle in the child's life, Pale Rider?"_

"I will relay your verdict immediately," Death said with a nod, turning on his heel to leave for the lower levels of the Council Stone. "I will inform my siblings to remain aware of the child's location at all times, and to keep a fair distance from her – and to keep _undesirable_ attention away from her as well." Without another word, and without even waiting for the Council's acknowledgement of his course of action, he descended the steps. The New Council had learned well from their predecessors' mistakes, and treated the Four as actual Enforcers – not slaves or hounds to be loosed on whoever irked them. There was a mutual, grudging respect between the Pale Rider and the Seven Faces – especially after they had cleared War of all the charges he had been accused of.

Nonetheless, Death couldn't help but feel a hint of bitterness. While the Council had refrained from punishing the human girl, it had been an unknown, bittersweet victory for the little girl. While she had been spared their wrath and ire, she had _not_ been spared their scrutiny. Her every move would be monitored and picked apart by the New Council… and the girl would be none the wiser, unless she did something foolish enough to warrant intervention from one of Death's siblings.

He sighed, almost inaudibly. That little girl had absolutely _no idea_ how complicated her life was going to become…

…and time alone would tell how she handled those complications.

* * *

The verdict had been passed. The girl would be spared punishment at the Council's orders, but she would remain under _close_ observation – that was as good a result as any, as far as the Red Rider was concerned.

War had not _budged_ from his spot. He still stood, upright and rigid, with Chaoseater drawn and planted into the earth beside him. The Soulless had _long_ since desisted in their attempts to prowl around and stalk the sleeping girl he stood guard over, but War knew well enough that as much as his presence terrified them, it could not purge the small island of their reign of terror. No, there was no doubt the little girl would be beset upon by those hellish creatures the moment War walked away.

He had little interest in leaving children to such grim demises – so his watch persisted, until he was certain her safety was assured.

Then he heard the voices – the loud, desperate hollers and screams of the humans trudging between the dead trees, panic-stricken and terrified as they search for the little girl slumbering at his feet. He grunted, a single, amused little noise, when he finally deciphered what they screaming. He looked down at the dark-haired, red bundle before him.

So her name is Ruby… How fitting.

It seemed her safety had indeed been assured. The humans were… less than two-hundred meters east, he deduced, and his eyes easily saw the ringleader, darting through the trees, wielding a scythe not at all dissimilar to Death's weapon of choice.

That man would be here soon – and it was best if he were not seen.

With a simple huff, he jerked Chaoseater up and returned it to its place on his back, and the face etched into his giant gauntlet glowed as the white canvas around him tainted itself a sickly orange, and in a blink, his colossal form had been swallowed by the Realm of Shadows – a place where even the most trained of human senses could not notice him. He cast a final glance at the girl's – at _Ruby's_ smiling face, before turning on his heel and trudging off.

The Council's verdict had been clear – until such a time that it was stated otherwise, the remaining Three would keep their distance from Ruby, and ensure others followed their example… either willingly, or by force.

Still, the Red Rider couldn't stop the distasteful frown that settled on his shadowed face.

To survive an encounter with both Demon-kind and the Soulless, at such a young age, no less… That girl, Ruby, seemed to have an exceptional strength of soul.

He could only hope that soul was _strong_ _enough_ , to survive the trials awaiting it.

* * *

From the shadows, a slumbering form stirred, and two sickly glowing eyes opened as _knowing_ set in.

Upon his fiery throne in the darkness of Shadow's Edge, the Lord of the Black Stone woke from his slumber, and an unsettling grin spread across his demonic features. The molten fires in his throne room burned ever brighter under his awakening, and their sinister glow revealed curved, sloping horns and twisted wings, seemingly attached upside-down. Sinister claws raked at the armrests of the stone throne, cutting grooves into the already coarse surface, but despite this, the demon's grin persisted.

"A seer, in the Third Kingdom…" He mused, idly scratching at the scaly, pronounced edge of his chin. He chuckled. "How peculiar. How… _delightful…_ "

And then, without warning, the Blood Prince threw his head back, and _laughed_ , a raucous, roaring fit of humour that echoed off the stone walls of the Black Stone. Many other demons dotting the sinister fortress were caught off-guard by their lord's sudden fit of laughter, but joined him nonetheless. After all, anything so funny that one of Hell's most powerful laughed aloud at it warranted a mirthful response.

Finally, the Lord of the Black Stone fell silent, his red gaze seemingly glaring across time and space.

"Ruby Rose…" Samael spoke, rolling the name around in his mouth with a smirk. "I do so hope you are more entertaining than your predecessor…"

* * *

 **A/N:** **Aaaaand we're done.**

 **So yes. This is a Seer!Ruby AU. Somewhat, at least - given that this _is_ a crossover with Darksiders, after all, it's not necessarily going to be that simple.**

 **So this chapter, I hope, has cleared up a few things - namely the 'new' Charred Council, the damage to the Third Kingdom and the walls cordoning it off from Creation, what the world of Remnant is a... well, a Remnant _of_ , and other such nifty things.**

 **Fun fact: This was originally supposed to be a simple 4000-word prologue. _That_ plan went to hell the minute I actually started writing it.**

 **Not much else to say, other than the fact that I hope this was an enjoyable read well worth sifting through almost 17 000 words to finish. Yeah, sorry about that... I've tried to write small chapters before. _That_ was a spectacle to see.**

 **Once more, a very hearty word of thanks to Unseen Lurker and his story that inspired this one - if you have yet to go read "Of Red Petals and Black Feathers" I humbly suggest you do it now. It is, in my opinion, one of the best RWBY crossovers on this site.**

 **And on that same note, thank _you_ , readers, for taking the time to read this chapter. I can only hope it was worth your time :)**

 **So until Chapter 2, I guess!**

 **Cheerio!  
-Chaos**


	2. Chapter 2

**Pre-Chapter** **A/N: This... may have taken a while longer to be released than I wanted it to. The full excuse/justification/poor reasoning for it can be found in the post-chapter author's note.**

 **Once again a massive word of thanks to Unseen Lurker for helping me iron out the kinks of this story and pretty much acting as an unofficial beta reader. At this point I dare say he's as much an author of this story as I am.**

 **Lastly: You might want to make yourself comfortable - this is an absolute _juggernaut_ of a chapter.**

* * *

 **Strength of an Honest Soul  
Chapter 2:  
Answers**

An eerily muted orchestra of crashing waves and roiling waters surrounded the small island of Patch, lightly and playfully lapping against the beaches and cliffs as the starry canvas above cast illusions both great and minor upon the darkened oceans. For once, this silence, the inaudible harmony, signalled peace – be it in the snowy forests or the snaking hills, nary a Grimm was in sight. _All_ of Patch's denizens could enjoy a peaceful night's rest, with their blankets tucked up to their chins or strewn about their dreaming bodies, and empty glasses of warm milk or malt liquor strewn on the bedside tables…

…Or at least, all but _one_ particular little girl.

Low tide revealed a grinning crevice etched into the face of the island's North-most cliff, one so close to the bastion of hope and peace that was Signal Academy, yet so far – hidden from even the most inquisitive eyes and the keenest of spyglasses until that _one_ short hour when the broken moon's movement would part the waters and reveal a scar from a battle the world hardly remembered.

Beyond this crevice's smiling visage, the cold sea wind howled and echoed and laughed off glimmering cave walls, jutting stalactites, precariously balanced pathways and natural bridges and ledges and brittle, easily-pierced old stone. It was a rocky maze, first formed by centuries of erosion, and finally buried deeper by a clash so great it shook the world itself to its very core. Gaps torn into the cave's ceiling, both by time and by grim tidings, allowed rays of moonlight to filter down and glimmer across the restless waters swirling below, like natural strobe lights spinning and tumbling across the dark.

Amongst this muted orchestra of nature's beautiful voices, but a single sound echoed that wasn't part of the symphony: a loud, echoing _chink_ would reverberate across the time-forged maze, spilling down into the depths as it travelled the distance of the hollowed-out cave.

And finally, with a last loud _clang_ , a somewhat mottled curved blade rose above the side of a ledge, and embedded itself into the ground.

A tiny, dirty hand followed suit – small, scuffed fingers grasped at the ledge as the sounds of fitful yet certain progress rose from the depths behind the outcropping of stone. Leather boots kicked at the sheer drop, seeking footing in an annoyed, rather than desperate fashion, and every now and then an errant blow of wind could be heard, trying to force hair matted with perspiration from a round, endearingly innocent face.

With a final huff, and an adorable little groan, Ruby Rose finally managed to hoist herself onto the ledge.

The tiny girl remained there for a while, on her hands and knees, sucking up large mouthfuls of air as her frame shook and shivered. Her boots and leggings dripped icy-cold water, her hands were scuffed and almost chafed and her face was covered by a mixture of dirt and dust and sweat, and her red cloak was blotched with varying degrees of mud – and yet still, an almost _blinding_ smile was starting to bloom on her face. She rose slightly, sitting on her knees as she fumbled with the straps of the small backpack she had brought along. Inquisitive silver eyes scanned the moonlit cavern before her, seeing all the winding paths leading deeper into the darkness, and her smile brightened that much more because of it.

The first item she took from her pack was a small canteen – one she promptly emptied with a few large gulps. Offhandedly she patted herself on the back for remembering to pack a second one. Then her tiny hands started rummaging around in the backpack, and suddenly the sounds of fluttering paper joined the man-made cacophony of sounds. Finally, though, the little Rose withdrew a sketchbook – A4 in size, with a leatherbound cover decorated with pictures of weapons of various shapes and sizes. With an almost hiccupping giggle, she pressed the sketchpad to her chest for a second or two before wiping her hands on her cape and flipping the pad open.

After a moment of squinting, Ruby groaned, setting the sketchbook down and rummaging around in her backpack again. The shafts of moonlight up ahead outlined a vague path she could follow, but the low lighting didn't do much for her eyesight. Finally, with an excited " _Aha!"_ she withdrew a small torch from the confines of her bag, and flicked it on. The tiny device shone an almost pitiful ray of light down on Ruby's own sketches, but it was enough – _more_ than enough to set the young Huntress-to-be's heart racing, and make her smile widen _that much more_.

She skimmed through various doodles and mottled, blurred images – jerky sketches from when she was caught in the throes of her 'dreams' as she'd taken to calling them. Beneath the tiny ray of light, blurred, almost abstract imagery of weapons and monsters and great unknown things skimmed by, until Ruby finally settled on an image she was seeking.

The similarity was only _fleeting_ – there was little to no actual resemblance between the lopsided cliff face and the grinning crevice Ruby had entered through, and the grinning, titanic mountain sketched onto the paper before her. It looked more like the type of mountains you found outside of civilization, in the thick of the Grimmlands, rather than the slightly jagged cliff-face found lining the edge of Patch. If she were to be _completely_ truthful she wouldn't even have found the resemblance if she hadn't heard a group of fisherman talking about low tide revealing a "sort of smiling cave mouth" in town one day. A quick glance at her sketchbook back then had shown that, indeed, the smile was there.

And now…

Now, here she was.

She turned the page again, her smile never leaving her as she viewed the chaotic mess of charcoal sketches on the next page. It was an indiscernible mess of varying shades of dark, smudged by the edge of her hand and erratic in its appearance – but Ruby lifted the image and held it before her regardless, casting a keen eye at the picture she had hastily created in the throes of her dream, and the visage of winding tunnels and cascading moonlight before her.

"Exactly the same…"

The truth could not be more different – the cavern before her was _vastly_ larger and more complex than her picture made it out to be, and its scale was grander than any little girl could ever hope to illustrate in a simple image.

But in the face of the absolutely _delighted_ giggle bubbling up and out of little Ruby Rose's mouth, it mattered little.

The sketchbook was once more pressed to the little girl's chest as her soft, infectious giggles turned into overjoyed peals of laughter. The knots in her shoulders, the result of her strenuous climb to the top, dissipated entirely as her entire form seemed to slump down in relief. Several hiccups interrupted her laughter, but she didn't appear to care.

"It's exactly the same…"

She spoke in a subdued tone as her laughter died down, and her twinkling silver eyes surveyed the intricate maze before her again. Once more she gazed down at the blotched, smudged paper in her sketchbook, and up again at the darkness and shafts of pale light before her. Tiny hands gripped tightly at the sketchbook, as though it were one of the most important things in Ruby's young life – and as she thought back to all the times the blank pages had helped her cope with her dreams, all the times her hand guided that small, fractured piece of coal across the paper in a bid to recreate what she saw in that amber void, she felt her little drawing pad was special indeed.

She had lost track of how many times the little sketchbook had come to her aid over the past three years since that the night the Uglies came to Patch.

Three years…

She winced as she remembered all the times her 'problem' had caused trouble for her. The screaming, the shaking, the crying and the wailing were still fresh in her mind. Almost instinctively, she pressed the drawing pad to her chest again, clutching it tightly beneath crossed arms as a single shiver ran up her back. She remembered how her problem had affected her family as well – her Dad was exhausted, and Yang… She sniffed. Yang was always at odds with her friends – over the fact that they thought Ruby was just a freaky little girl.

Yang got into a lot of fights, Ruby remembered. The thought brought a smile to her small face, her silver eyes sparkling as she remembered.

Yang never believed, when Ruby told her what little she knew about what she came to know as the 'Balance'. When Ruby had told her fiery older sister that she was seeing ugly monsters, uglier than the _Grimm_ , and beautiful angels in her dreams, Yang didn't believe either, nor did she believe when Ruby told her she saw _huge_ giants, singing at mountains and valleys.

Yang never believed – but she never left Ruby alone, either.

When Ruby woke up crying or screaming at night, terrified of something she'd dreamed and couldn't understand, Yang was the first to burst into her room, and the older girl would immediately seize Ruby in a downright _fierce_ embrace before asking what was wrong.

When Ruby's dreams took her places where the cold was so real, and so, _so_ icy that it lanced into her bones and set her tiny frame a-shiver, Yang would be there, piling on the blankets and plopping down next to her little sister, wrapping herself around Ruby and doing her best to help keep the younger girl warm, and when her dreams took her to blistering places of sunlight and heat, Yang was there with icy-cold water and a drenched cloth to dab at Ruby's face.

And if one of Yang's friends happened to say something ' _less than nice'_ about Ruby, well… Yang often responded – and not with words.

There was a reason she came to be known as a bit of a problem child on the island, Ruby remembered with both a guilty hiccup and a muted giggle.

That, though… That was why she was here:

For her family.

She propped her sketchbook on her knees again, and turned the page.

Where the former page represented the maze of darkness she was looking at now, this one was its complete opposite – the giant white void in the middle of the illustration served to symbolise an immense, almost _blinding_ light that cast away the shadows. Slowly she traced her fingers over the haphazard feathers she had sketched when she had finally gotten a chance to illustrate her dream properly, taking care not to smudge them. Those feathers… were _gold_ in her dream. And the light…

It was so _warm_ when she saw it first. When she had first had the dream in which she saw that light, all those months ago, the comforting radiance had stunned her into inactivity. When she looked at it she felt everything just _stop_. All the fear, all the confusion and hopelessness she usually felt when her dreams would start, it all just _disappeared_ … and in the warm rays of light she had seen, she had felt so _safe_ , almost as if…

Almost as if none of her problems ever existed. As if everything she had experienced was just a bad dream, and she was about to wake up at any moment, all snug and back in her bed at home. No dreams, no uglies, no nightmares, no confusing pictures… _Nothing_.

With a shaky breath, she stowed the sketchbook back into her pack, seized the simple scythe she had used to help her scale the maze, and rose to her feet with a resolute expression on her face.

She had waited months for this – months of wandering the same places in her 'dreams', months of trying to piece it all together, months to determine _when_ the events she was seeing were actually going to take place.

She didn't know why, or _how_ , or even if she could be right at all – but something within her, _something_ on a level she didn't understand at all told her that she would find _something_ in that light. It wasn't an alien feeling, like the orb had given her so long ago. The light didn't make her think or act any differently – at least, not as far as _she_ had noticed. But it made something within her stir – an instinctive belief that she needed to _find this light_.

Because, despite the fact that she was too young to explain it, or to vocalise her thoughts…

… _something_ told her she would find answers, if she found that light.

So Ruby Rose took a deep breath, braced her little scythe across her shoulders, and with a soft, endearing _huff_ , she took off – walking the path she had walked so _many_ times in her dreams. Every step she took brought her closer to her goal, and the image of Yang, and her Dad and Zwei all smiling happily at her – happy as they had been, before her dreams had started.

She huffed again as she walked, quelling her nervousness.

For better or for worse, Ruby thought, she was going to find answers.

Then…

Hopefully then, she could start working towards making everything _better_ …

* * *

Outside the cave, the orchestra of humming waves and whispering breezes was periodically disturbed and interrupted by a holler, equal parts desperate and exasperated. The broken moon above shone fractured light down on the figure traversing the rocky outcroppings beside Patch's northernmost cliff, casting an almost _ethereal_ shine across her mane of golden hair and drawing a twinkle from concerned lilac eyes. Water lapped at her boots as calm waves smacked against smooth stone, but the blonde-haired beauty couldn't care less. Her focus was on following the trail of rose petals before her.

"If you come out now I'll go find that box of strawberries Dad hid!" Yang called out into the calm nothingness of the night, hoping her sister could hear her. "Ruby?... Ugh."

Shaking her head, she instead forged onwards, fingers picking away at her weapons mounted on her wrists. Despite Grimm sightings on Patch being at an all-time low, Yang had grabbed Ember Celica when she had left the house regardless – Dad and Uncle Qrow had always been going on about being prepared regardless of circumstances, and given Ruby's tendency to run off to Dust-knows-where whenever she… whenever she 'got sick' as Dad called it, going after her with _some_ measure of weapon was a necessity, in case any Grimm showed their ugly faces.

With a somewhat grim expression, she recalled the events leading up to this exasperated trudge across the smooth stone outcropping beside the cliff. It had started ordinarily enough – she'd woken up in the middle of the night with a rumbling stomach, and was on her way to the kitchen to indulge in a midnight snack when she heard Ruby giggling loudly in her room. She'd opened the door just a peep, to make sure her sister was alright, only to see the girl tossing and turning about in her sleep, with that ever familiar, ever worrisome amber glow shining through half lidded eyes.

So she'd done what she did every other time Ruby's sickness bothered her: She rushed in, shook her sister awake, and weathered the onslaught of confusion and cryptic words that followed. She sat there, hugging her sister with one arm, waiting until the worst of the fallout had subsided. Ruby had, in her half-delirious state, gone on and on about 'finding the light' and how she was 'running out of time'.

Yang had felt really, _really_ bad when she experienced a pang of frustration upon hearing those words.

So once Ruby had calmed down sufficiently, Yang had hurried downstairs, securing a glass of milk and a single cookie from a half-open pack on the countertop before scurrying back upstairs to try and help the young Rose fall asleep again. When she had gotten back to her sister's room, and saw the closet ajar, the red cape and mock combat-outfit missing, and the trail of red rose petals leading out of the window, she nearly punched herself.

She shook her head, dispelling the memory and focusing on maintaining a steady footing on the smooth, drenched stones beneath her boots. "I think there's a pack of cookies somewhere as well!" She called out again. "Ruby? You out here?"

She sighed. In a way this was all her fault, really. "Don't leave her alone when she's sick," Dad had told her before leaving on whatever business called to him. "Stay with her until she's one-hundred percent better," he had said. And what does she do? _Exactly_ what she'd been told _not_ to do. She grumbled to herself as she walked along.

As if she wasn't beating herself up _enough_ for what happened when she took Ruby to that cabin, all those years ago…

Finally, the trail of rose petals stopped – and Yang felt a pang of recognition cross her as she gazed at the crevice that had been eroded into the side of the cliff. She and Ruby had been in town a few days prior, and a group of fishermen had mentioned a 'smiling scar' somewhere along the Northern cliff, now that low tide had rolled around. The words had a _profound_ effect on Ruby, whose eyes had immediately started glowing anew, but once the little fit had passed the spectacle had been largely forgotten – until now, at least.

She sighed as she beheld the grinning cave mouth. "…What are you even _doing_ in there, Ruby?" She asked aloud, as though the answer would come from the maw before her itself, with Ruby's words carried on the sweeping gales within.

Her gazed lingered for a while, as she eyed the distasteful cave beyond the smiling visage. Reluctantly, she shoved an arm through the crevice and ran her hand along the inside, across smooth, _damp_ , _mossy_ , _**dirty**_ stone and _Dust,_ that was going to be _murder_ on her hair, she thought, pawing at her golden mane with her free hand. Her face turned pensive at the prospect of wading through all that muck... but…

Ruby was in there.

That, in her mind, outweighed every possible negative there was. Ruby was in there, doing _Dust_ knows what, and it was all because she had been lax.

She withdrew her arm, grimacing at the layer of wet, brown… _stuff_ smeared across her fingers.

At least, she thought, she and Ruby were all alone back home – so she could hog the shower all she wanted when this mess was all over.

"Okay, Ruby," she said, exhaling. "Just sit tight. I'll be… right there."

And with those words, and a still pensive expression, Yang Xiao Long shuffled into the cave beyond the grinning crevice.

* * *

Despite her most _valiant_ efforts, Ruby Rose could not help but _marvel_ at the sheer scale of the network of caves she had been traversing. It was, thankfully, a fairly linear march forwards – despite the rays of moonlight shining through gaping wounds in the cavern's ceiling illuminating many an outcropping, it was fairly obvious – at first glance, even – that those were all dead ends. The only true 'route' forwards was a series of lightless tunnels connecting one clearing-like room filled with criss-crossing stone roads and outcroppings to the next… and yet, every time Ruby entered a new chamber, she would pause as childish 'Ooh's and 'Aah's escaped her as she looked at the arrays of clear white light cascading into the caves.

She had taped her tiny flashlight to the shaft of her small scythe, and was now holding the weapon as though it were a gun, with its curved blade pointing downwards and the bottom part of its shaft tucked under her arms. Despite her efforts to remain focused on moving _forward_ and finding the light she'd seen in her dreams, the way she was holding her weapon made her feel _giddy_ with excitement.

It may have been another _year_ before she enrolled at Signal, but when she did, she was _building her scythe-rifle_ , and _nobody_ was going to tell her otherwise.

She had some great designs sketched already!... If only she could _find_ them between all her other pictures…

She giggled softly, before her face set into a frown, and she scolded herself for her momentary dip in concentration. She had to be alert, after all – there could _still_ be Grimm down here… even if she hadn't seen any sign of them since she stepped into the cave. With that in mind, she trudged into the next cavernous chamber, sparing mere _moments_ to quickly analyse her surroundings, just as Uncle Qrow had taught her to. She blinked, though, when she noticed the _vastness_ of this cavern – it stretched into the distance, a giant dark void apart from the few beams of moonlight pouring down through cracks in the ceiling.

There was an elevation, she noticed – the area she found herself in was quite large, but it was only a small, almost oval-shaped fraction of the greater cave. The next area, while not isolated by walls, stood several dozen feet above her, atop yet another seemingly insurmountable outcropping. Looking from where she stood, the various areas and levels of the greater cave seemed almost like giant _steps_ rising into the distance, stopping before a large, circular opening into the dark beyond… and there was no normal way for her to traverse them.

She whined, almost pitifully, and glanced at her raw fingertips and scuffed boots when she realised she would have to climb _again_.

With an exasperated huff, she hopped up onto a large, gleaming boulder to her right and plopped down on it, shucking off her pack and opening it to retrieve the second canteen she had packed earlier. Climbing all the way up _there_ … It was a daunting prospect for little Ruby, who had only _barely_ managed to scale the cave wall near the entrance through a mix of willpower, her Semblance and a very, _very_ sharp scythe. Now, though… Now she was exhausted, she realised with a whimper. The way her arms and legs shook made her doubt she could even climb _one_ of those walls, let alone the entire half-a-dozen of them.

She titled her head back and drank from her canteen, almost hungrily. Her mind raced, its gears churning and spinning as she tried to figure out a way to get by despite her fatigue. If only she'd been in Signal already… Half of her designs for the future "Crescent Rose" involved a high-impact sniper rifle, so if she had gotten _that_ far, maybe she could've tried to use the recoil to boost her upwards? It was a thought, at least.

An errant gulp from her canteen sent a squirt of water flying from her mouth, and she ended up coughing and sputtering as stray drops tumbled down onto the smooth, gleaming boulder. The fat droplets impacted onto the shiny surface with audible _smacks_ in the silence of the cave, and tumbled and rolled down the smooth sides of the circular stone, before disappearing into the uprooted earth surrounding it.

Then, the boulder _bristled_ … and a low, muted growl erupted from the earth beneath it.

Ruby yelped as she felt the stone she was sitting on _shift_ , turning and swaying from side to side as the loose soil surrounding it quivered and splayed outwards. The growl intensified, turning into an insectoid _snarl_ as the smooth stone started vibrating and creaking. The young Huntress-to-be leapt off, readying her small scythe in mid-flight and landing in the same stance Uncle Qrow had been teaching her to use. Despite this her silver eyes still shone with the _slightest_ hints of worry and trepidation as the large stone before her rose and unfurled, turning out to be anything _but_ a boulder.

The monster's humped back was smooth carapace, shining a deep violet now that the moonlight caught it properly, and the shell itself split apart and rose upwards as a pair of _whirring_ wings not unlike a dragonfly's unfolded and beat at the air. Two powerful hind-legs hoisted the bug-monster high up, until it stood almost three times Ruby's own height, and the considerable bulk of its upper body rested on two muscular forelegs, each tipped with a _wicked_ claw like appendage, not at all dissimilar to a mantis. Two mandibles clicked irritably as four glowing green orbs looked Ruby _dead_ in the eye.

This, she noticed with a _slight_ hint of panic, was _not_ a Grimm – at least, not any type she had heard of. The lack of all-black colouration and the bony-white mask only further cemented that theory. Despite this, the bug-like hulk glared at her with every ounce of the malice and ferocity the monsters of Grimm were known for. This wasn't like a stray dog she could placate with kind baby-talk.

Fight, or flee – it didn't seem as though there were any middle ground concerning this hulk.

For but a _moment_ , Ruby's flight instinct tugged at her consciousness, a voice of reason telling her that this was a strange, weird, _alien_ monster never before seen in any of the Grimm handbooks or fairytales, and that she should _get out_ and tell Uncle Qrow, and let the real Huntsmen and Huntresses deal with this… _thing_.

But at that moment, an image of her family flashed in her mind's eye again. With all the problems her 'sickness' had caused, they still smiled – even when they were exhausted, physically and mentally, by her fits.

Then she remembered the light – and her _instinctive_ belief that she'd find something to _help her_ within it.

No. No, she wouldn't run.

She owed it to her family to find answers – and this (admittedly scary) insect monster was not going to stop her.

So she puffed out her cheeks in a defiant manner, narrowed her silver eyes at the hulk before her, hoisted her scythe off her shoulders and swung it behind her, assuming the stance Uncle Qrow had been teaching her to use.

The insectoid monster seemed to notice this, its eyes scanning her in an almost calculating manner as its scythe-like forelegs tapped and tore at the ground beneath them. Its four green eyes spun in their sockets, and finally it _snarled_ like a rabid beast. Its mandibles split apart and sent spittle flying everywhere, as the bony carapace covering its back tilted forwards and its wings beat against each other so fast that it created a low _hum_.

Finally, it reared back on its hind legs…

…and with an almost ear-shattering _screech_ , the beast charged.

* * *

Yang was halfway up the dark, slick stone wall, cursing and groaning and grumbling the entire way as her bare fingers strained against cracks and outcroppings in search of traction, when she heard the almost _rat-like screech_ coming from deeper into the cavern.

Any trace of frustration and exasperation and generally being _sick of this_ disappeared _immediately_ as the inhuman wail echoed off the pitch-coloured walls and across the dark nothingness that surrounded her. Her heart leapt up to her throat and started beating at a million miles an hour as her eyes widened under the realisation that she and Ruby _were not alone_ in this tunnel, and that Ruby was likely in danger.

The walls seemed to close in on her, and the air grew thinner, and with a resounding _crack_ the stone under her fingers crumbled away.

Struggling to even _breathe_ properly, Yang forewent any pretence of climbing this _stupid wall_ the normal way – with a loud holler, she deployed Ember Celica and let go, before swinging her arms down and firing a shot from each gauntlet. The recoil boosted her higher in that one moment than a whole minute of climbing would have gotten her, and with a loud growl she _slammed_ both fists into the stone, creating just enough of a crater for her to hold on to.

She snarled, and repeated the action; again, the shotgun blasts blew her upwards and again she _punched_ her own outcroppings – or _in_ croppings – into the wall. By the third time she had done it, by the third pair of shots she fired from her gauntlets, she didn't even _need_ to create another handhold – her scuffed, calloused fingers wrapped around the edge of the top, and with an almost animalistic growl she _hurled_ herself up onto the solid ground.

Lilac eyes had turned red in the darkness, and Yang immediately darted off into the shadows, clipping her torch to her belt and switching it on as she ran.

"Ruby! Ruby, are you here?!" She screamed into the pitch-blackness around her. "Hang on, I'm coming!"

* * *

The air _rushed_ past Ruby's ears, howling as she ducked beneath another slow, yet undoubtedly powerful swing from the insect hulk's deadly foreleg. The gust that followed the strike blew red rose petals into the air as Ruby utilised her recently-discovered Semblance to dance around the colossal bug's attacks. It snarled again as its green eyes scanned the darkness for her, and it _tensed_ , hearing the metal blade of Ruby's scythe humming as she readied to strike.

It braced itself just as Ruby leapt from its blind spot, curling in on itself as it brought the bony carapace covering its wings up, and hid its face behind the now crossed scythes adorning its forelegs.

Ruby's strike, however well-calculated it was, bounced off the bony armour as though it were but a flung pebble.

The moment her feet tapped down on the ground again, she was on the move, a streak of red trailing fluttering petals in her wake. The insectoid hulk lashed out in attack, slashing in an X-pattern at the spot before it, apparently not even noticing she'd already given it the slip. The somewhat silly action made her giggle softly, despite herself. The beast seemed to hear her, seemed to _understand_ the noise she made, and spun to face her, a look of _rage_ in those four emerald orbs. Its mandibles clicked almost irritably as it loosed yet another monstrous wail, and slammed its claws down into the ground like some kind of prideful display.

Ruby smiled at the thing, readying herself again, and once more her visage became naught but crimson blurs and drifting petals. She zipped in-between the beast's legs, spinning on her heel and swinging her scythe in a wide arc just as the bug's scythe-like arms slammed down in front of its bulk, trying – and _failing_ – to flatten the blur she had become. Her scythe's blade bit into the tender flesh of its joint and a squirt of greenish ichor stained her weapon and made the beast _roar_. Ruby saw its body tense up, saw its legs _coiling_ as the muscle beneath the carapace knotted and turned despite the blade lodged in its leg, and just _barely_ she withdrew her weapon from the limb before the monster's insectoid wings splayed out and whirred to life.

Then it _leapt_ , hovering high into the air, supported by rhythmically beating wings.

And with a _beastly_ growl, it folded its wings back in and _plummeted_ back to the ground, intent on turning Ruby to powder beneath its considerable weight.

She _glided_ backwards in a flurry of petals, yet _still_ the sheer shockwave from the insect's dive-bomb was enough to blast the little girl clean off her feet. She was sent tumbling towards the far wall, a tangled mess of limbs and red fabric, before she tucked her body into a roll, righting herself with a quick, dainty flip, landing once again in her favoured fighting stance. Her eyes shook a bit from dizziness, but her scythe remained steady – steady, and prepared to _strike._

The buggy hulk before her turned to face her, its mandibles trailing spit as its eyes zeroed in on her despite the somewhat dim lighting. It had to use its gargantuan claws to help steady itself, as Ruby noticed it limping slightly as it moved. Her assault on its joint, coupled with the sheer force of its aerial assault earlier, must have damaged the limb quite badly. This brought a slight smile to her face – despite its colossal size, and its undoubtedly _freakish_ strength, it seemed this stupid bug wasn't going to be so dangerous after all.

Its mandibles _shuddered_ , and its eyes seemed to glow that much brighter in the dim light, and with an audible creak the carapace covering its back split apart, allowing its wings to extend sideways to their full length. They whirred to life, lifting the hulk _just_ enough to ease the weight on its leg, and allow it to use its arms.

Ruby darted forwards again, going wide and skimming along its side as her keen silver eyes looked for any sign of weakness. Her first instinct, as she darted around the colossal bug, was to go for its wings – cripple those, then keep focusing on its leg until an opening appeared that she could use to end the fight. That plan, however, dissipated when she took a closer look at its back. Beneath the impenetrable carapace it had used to block her earlier attack was a writhing, almost _pulsating_ stretch of squishy flesh, which was now left exposed as the beast was using its wings.

 _Hah! Right there!_

With a grin, Ruby poured as much energy as she could into her legs before leaping upwards and barrelling towards the beast's exposed weakspot. Her scythe almost _sang_ as it travelled through the air, its song reaching a chorus as she spun it to build up just a _bit_ more momentum – for _maximum_ piercing power.

The insect, however, noticed her attack.

It couldn't counter-attack – it was far, far too slow, Ruby noticed. But its exposed wings offered it a _load_ of extra mobility; just enough for it to fling itself to the side in a desperate attempt to evade what would likely be a heavily debilitating injury. Ruby's scythe skimmed across the carapace of its leg before biting into the solid ground beneath, as the insectoid hulk half-hovered, half-tumbled away from her.

Ruby let out a frustrated _hmph_ as the bug struggled to regain its footing. It _hissed_ at her, seemingly scolding her for her attack, and the gesture served to make Ruby's brow knot itself into a tiny frown as she pouted. She wrenched her scythe free from the ground, and reassumed her stance, keeping her weapon steady at her side, but her silver eyes never left her opponent.

 _Right_ , she thought, _just going for it isn't working. Let's try something else._

She blurred into motion again, zipping around the bug-hulk in a plethora of criss-crossing patterns, from figure eights to simplistic circular dashes, and commenced a steady yet _relentless_ assault on the monster's armoured limbs. Her scythe clipped and chipped at carapace almost as strong as steel, bounding off with an audible _clink_ at every interval, before she would speed along, out of the hulk's field of vision so she could chip away at another part the monster had to turn around to see.

Inevitably it got mad again – its mandibles shuddered, its gargantuan body twitched and jerked and its scythe-like forelegs slammed into the ground once more as the monster started to _chirp_ almost violently. Ruby smiled when she saw its legs tense up and its body coil in on itself again. She kept darting around despite this, hoping to keep the beast angry until it gave her the opening she was hoping for.

Once again, its wings whirred to life, and it used its good leg to propel itself high into the air…

…and just as it did, Ruby skidded to a halt, _burying_ the blade of her scythe into the ground, bending her legs forward and digging her feet in as hard as she could.

The beast barrelled down at the earth again.

The shockwave was _much_ weaker this time – whether from its injured leg or some other circumstance, Ruby didn't know, nor did she stop to wonder. As soon as the force was done buffeting her body she had heaved her scythe up onto her shoulders and _stormed_ forwards. The hulk was lurched forwards, its wounded leg tucked beneath it as it struggled to right itself, flaring its wings and beating them together in a bid to get back to its feet – and leaving the pulsing weakspot beneath its carapace _wide open_.

Once more, Ruby leapt at her target, and once more she flourished her scythe, twirling it and building up just a _bit_ more momentum…

…and this time, the blade struck home.

The scythe tore into the fleshy sack with an absolutely disgusting sound, and sickly, mottled green ichor came bubbling from the wound, pooling around the blade and dribbling down the monster's back. The hulk made a sound that _echoed_ through Ruby's ears, something resembling a human _scream_ of pain more than a sound a bug should be making. Its hunched back _arched_ , becoming ramrod straight as the beast flailed madly in pain, and Ruby felt her footing give way under the sudden verticality. Tiny hands gripped the shaft of her scythe, hanging on for dear life as the bug-hulk's sudden rodeo sent its icky lifeblood splattering all over her garments. She voiced her disgust, an audible ' _Eeeeeeeeeew!'_ accompanying the salvo of shrieks the monster was letting loose as it shook its body from side to side, trying to dislodge her.

Ruby twisted her body as she flailed through the air, trying to regain enough of a grasp on her weapon to wrench it loose and begin her assault anew. Just as she managed to steady herself, however, the curved, bony carapace that had served to cover its wings slammed back into place as the beast arched forwards again. The armour impacted the blade of her scythe with enough force to send tremors running up her arms, and much to her mounting panic, it had locked her scythe in place – no matter how much she flailed as the beast shook itself, her weapon wasn't budging.

With a low growl she regained her footing, planting her boots onto the smooth carapace beneath her as she tugged at her weapon with an almost iron grip. "C'mon… Stupid… Let _go_ already!"

The monster merely shrieked louder at her demand, its swaying and bucking and spinning intensifying even more. Thank _goodness_ Uncle Qrow had shown her that trick to not getting dizzy, she thought as she kept tugging at her weapon with a tiny frown. The bug-hulk seemed _really_ mad – so mad it didn't even notice its injured leg anymore. It just kept hopping and spinning and bucking as more _gross_ bug blood bubbled up from between its wing-shields.

All of a sudden, the spinning and the bucking _stopped_.

The hulk swayed in place for a few moments, loosing a few pained chirps as it hacked up green blood from its mouth, before rearing back and _roaring_. It was a cry that reverberated off the cave walls and caused all the small debris the beast's tantrum had kicked up to tremble underfoot. Finally, with an enraged snort, the bug charged _right_ at the wall at the far end of their little battleground. With a shriek, it leapt, slamming its scythe like claws into the stone, before climbing to the top, seemingly trying to move to the next area. Verticality appeared suddenly again, and once more Ruby lost her footing with a surprised yelp. She dangled from the shaft of her scythe as the insectoid titan traversed the small pseudo-cliff. For a moment, she thought it was going to take her deeper into the cave.

Then it stopped.

Then it _hissed_.

And _then_ Ruby finally noticed how the monster was tensing its limbs, drawing its feet up and _planting_ them into the side of the small cliff-face as it rumbled and growled like an angry Beowolf.

Silver eyes became wide as saucers as she finally pieced together the monster's plan – and suddenly, the big, stupid bug didn't seem so stupid anymore. Ruby only had a _moment_ to utter a single "Uh oh" in a low whine.

With a _furious_ screech the hulk kicked off the wall, sending itself plummeting to the ground as gravity took hold of it. The angle of its fall allowed it to curl up into a ball, with its back – and by extension, the little red girl clinging to the weapon lodged there – pointed _square_ at the cavern floor. Ruby wailed as she felt the winds whipping past her face as she fell, giving her scythe a few last, almost _desperate_ tugs, but it wouldn't budge – the blade was seemingly locked in place. So, with a strained exclamation of "Sorry, scythe!", Ruby screwed her eyes shut and let go of the weapon, swinging herself to the side _just_ before the beast slammed down on the ground with a mighty crash.

There wasn't enough time for Ruby to right herself – she slammed down on her side and tumbled off towards the far end of the small battleground, the impact taking some wind out of her sails. This did not deter her, though – as soon as she had slowed enough, she flipped herself upright again, landing on her feet, cradling her side with an arm. Her aura took the brunt of the blow, but she still got the wind knocked out of her. She stood there, breathing somewhat raggedly as she gazed at the massive cloud of dust before her.

A rumble rose from the cloud before her, and in the dim moonlight she could see a silhouette shifting in the dust, rising to its feet. It grumbled and growled and hissed and spat like a mad monster, swaying on the spot, before a gust of wind blew the dust aside. The bug-hulk stood there, its posture making it resemble someone hunched over. It sputtered and spat, eyes erratic and panicked as thick globs of green blood dripped from its mouth, splattering against the earth with a disgusting _squelching_ sound. In the moonlight, Ruby saw the broken blade of her scythe jutting out of its back, and on the ground before the beast, the shattered remains of her weapon lay squashed into the stone floor.

She gulped nervously, silver eyes beginning to dance _just_ a bit with worry and the slightest hint of fear. She… wasn't so good at unarmed combat yet – Uncle Qrow had promised her he'd get her started on that, at least a bit, as soon as she started at Signal next year. But now… Now, her weapon lay broken before her, and she was left near-useless. She cast a worried gaze at the bug-hulk, and it locked eyes with her as it heaved and sputtered.

Ruby thought she saw a glimpse of _rage_ in those eyes when the beast realised she was still alive.

The beast _huffed_ , snorting like a bull as it saw her, and shuffled away, its movement hindered by its crippled leg and the debilitating wound in its back. Ruby considered what she should do next – she was without a weapon, so if there were more not-so-stupid bug-hulks in the cave she would be in real danger. A part of her told her she should cut her losses and flee – _one_ of those things put up more of a fight than the Beowolf cubs that Uncle Qrow had her practicing against so frequently; _all_ of them together, at that. If there were more…

She gazed forlornly up the giant steps leading into the dark nothingness in the distance. On the other hand, she had come _so_ far… and if low tide was what revealed the cave entrance, who _knew_ when she'd get another chance to 'find the light'? Who knew if the light would even still _be_ here when the next low tide rolled around?

Fortunately – or _un_ fortunately – Ruby was spared the effort of making a decision.

A spasm rocked the wounded hulk before her as its body started to fail it. With a hacking, choking cough it spat out another glob of icky green blood, and swayed to the left so far it nearly, _nearly_ , fell over. Its eyes glassed over as it kept its gaze locked on Ruby, before it sneered at her and spread its wings one last time. The hulk poured all its remaining strength into a single movement, rearing up onto its hind legs and splaying its mandibles wide as it loosed a _bone-shuddering_ shriek of pain and rage. It was a bellow so loud even the echoes it caused had echoes, and Ruby _felt_ the earth beneath her feet rumble and shift.

Finally, the hulk's lungs – or whatever bugs had for lungs, Ruby thought – ran out of air, and with a final groan, it fell forwards, slamming onto the ground, where it remained, unmoving. Its eyes still gazed at her, seemingly dancing in the moonlight, before they misted completely, and the beast fell silent.

Ruby released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding, and already, a giddy smile started to tug at her lips.

She won.

Despite the bug-hulk being bigger, and stronger, and _not_ as stupid as she thought it was, she won.

A giggle threatened to escape her – one she tried oh so _very_ hard to stop, placing her hands over her mouth as her tiny frame shook. Finally, she managed to quash her mirth, however temporarily. With a loud sizzle, the corpse of the bug-hulk started to snap apart into tendrils of black, decomposing rapidly despite Ruby's doubt that it was a Grimm. With a final gush of steam, the monster's corpse disappeared entirely.

Then, the rumbling started anew.

Mirth that had been quashed mere seconds ago evaporated _entirely_ as silver eyes snapped to attention, scanning the surroundings as tremors rocked the ground beneath Ruby's feet. She bit her lip, raising her fists in a quick, haphazard imitation of Yang's sparring stance as she frantically looked around, seeking the source of the disconcerting sounds.

Around her, more boulders shifted – one buried in the ground to the far side of the small battleground, and two more burrowed into the ceiling, carefully hidden amidst darkened outcroppings of stone. They, too, hummed and groaned as they shifted where they were buried – before bony carapaces split apart, and insectoid wings unfurled.

The slight hint of fear she felt when she watched the first hulk in its death throes returned tenfold – her lungs constricted painfully as more bugs burrowed out of their hiding spots, and her stomach had seemingly turned to water, what with the way it seemed to _flop about_ with every move she made.

Then, with a loud cacophony of screeches, her new assailants _attacked_.

With a yelp, Ruby disappeared in a flurry of petals as one of the hulks hiding in the ceiling seemingly _exploded_ from its burrowed state, snarling and spitting as its wings propelled it downwards at a frightening speed. She stopped at the other side of the small clearing just its as two scythe-tipped forelegs _shattered_ the ground she stood on seconds before. The second had quickly dug itself from its confines, and lurched forwards with a lazy swipe of its claw, one that was easily sidestepped by Ruby. The last one dropped down from the ceiling with a low growl – and landed _right_ in front of the jagged cave mouth Ruby had entered through.

 _Trapped._

She stood with her back against the small cliff-face leading up to the next area, incapable of climbing it and stuck without a weapon. She only realised then how much her breathing was quivering, and how white her knuckles were from how _hard_ she had her fists clenched. Despite all of this, though, despite her silver eyes dancing with panic and terror, she kept her resolve steeled. She was _faster_ than them, and she was _smarter_ than them.

While that thought alleviated her fears, though, it didn't alleviate the pang of sadness she felt at having to leave that light behind.

One of the bug-hulks grew tired of waiting. It snarled at her as its wings whirred into action, and the monster hoisted itself high into the air, claws poised to rip her apart the _moment_ it slammed into the ground. They locked eyes as it reached the apex of its flight, menacing green meeting determined, yet fearful silver, and the hulk snarled again. Its body tense as it reared, and its wings twitched and angled downwards.

At that precise moment, time – from Ruby's perception – seemed to _slow_.

And at that precise moment, the dim glow from the beams of moonlight and the pitch-darkness lining the cavern walls were both _seared away_ as golden light illuminated every inch of their rocky surroundings.

In a fraction of a second, Ruby's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped – just as the imposing battle was interrupted by a shrill, _graceful_ cry from… a bird?

A _blur_ of brown fur and white feathers slammed into the airborne bug-hulk with a vicious, almost _enraged_ cry, and the aerial assault battered the insectoid titan clean out of the air. The two beasts slammed into the wall of the cavern with a thundering ruckus before tumbling down to the ground, locked in a vicious battle of pecks and slashes and swipes, kicking up a cloud of dust before Ruby could even make out who – or _what_ – had saved her from the monster's attack. The other two hulks sneered, _viciously_ , at the new arrival, poising themselves to leap into the fray and aid their friend.

The light illuminating the cavern walls seemed to glow just a _bit_ brighter – and a faint sizzling noise was all the warning both Ruby _and_ the remaining hulks had.

The air above Ruby crackled and hissed as a _torrent_ of bright, almost blinding golden fire poured over the edge of the small cliff-face. It coiled and swayed like an angry snake before lashing out at the hulk obstructing the cave mouth, searing its wings away and scorching its armour. With a shrill shriek it backed away as the fire pooled around its heels, lapping at its legs and arms and burning it so severely Ruby could hear its bony carapace _whistling_ from the heat.

The final hulk turned its gaze upwards, towards the source of the light, and snarled, its eyes shining a disturbing shade of black in the piercing light. Its wing-shields flared up and its wings unfurled, coming to life with a low hum as the sudden draft it kicked up made the golden fire dance, and writhe and _rise_ , almost entirely engulfing the second hulk. With a shriek it kicked off the ground, barrelling towards the second level of the cavern, towards a foe Ruby couldn't see, sitting with her back to the wall as she was. The last sight she saw before the beast disappeared over the lip of the cliff was its scythe-like arms, poised to strike…

…and then, the ever-familiar _clang_ of two weapons locking against each other rang through the cavern.

The sudden clash of arms shook Ruby, making her jolt as the crisp, metallic sound drifted through the chaos of roaring flames and battling beasts. She heard the sound again, a whispered song of steel clashing against something dense and hard, resulting in another loud report. Her heart leapt up to her chest as she sat there, pondering whether she should make a break for it _now_ , while the bug-hulks were distracted. Her thoughts abruptly ended, however, when the third hulk was seemingly _hurled_ back down into the initial battleground, landing barely _five feet_ in front of her and drawing a loud yelp of surprise from her. The beast shook itself, bristling, and in the sudden golden illumination she could see the colossal, gaping scar cut right across the bug's carapace. It struggled into a poor imitation of a crouched posture, shaking its head before locking eyes with her.

Ruby blinked as she noticed she couldn't _possibly_ dodge an attack in her current position, and her jaw dropped open as a panicked wail escaped her. The beast roared in kind, rearing back and preparing to strike –

Something _blurred_ in front of her, a maelstrom of white and gold and glinting steel, and before Ruby could _blink_ a colossal sword had been driven clean through the carapace protecting the beast's back. Sickly green gunk splattered across her face, and with a disgusted series of noises and choking sounds she pawed at her face, trying to wipe the revolting stuff off as the monster before her shrieked and screeched in pain.

Steel hissed again, and another loud _crack_ cut the hulk's screech of pain off, turning it into a strained, choked gurgle, and Ruby could _hear_ the pain in the sounds it made. Finally, with a last scrape of steel and a loud _snap_ that made her yelp in fright, the hulk fell silent.

Ruby finally managed to smear the worst of the grotesque mess off her face, and blinked a few times to get rid of any of the stuff that may have gotten into her eyes. She heard the blades that ended the third hulk's life dislodge themselves with sickening cracks and nauseating squelches, and soon the snapping of flesh and the cracking of bones reached her ears as the gargantuan insect's carcass rotted away where it lay. Steeling herself and taking a deep breath, she looked up…

And when those silver orbs beheld the sight in front of her, Ruby forgot how to _breathe_.

For at that _precise_ moment, her dreams and her reality became one.

Only _fleetingly_ she registered the smaller details like the ornate white and gold armour, fitting snugly on a female form as it shone in the golden light, and the waves of silver hair that framed a stern face and deep, almost _glowing_ yellow eyes. Only _fleetingly_ she registered the two blades clutched in the woman's hands; one wide and ornate, seeming as though three blades had been forged into one giant greatsword, and the other a _very_ long, yet wiry blade not at all dissimilar to a katana.

No; the detail Ruby directed the _most_ of her focus to was the pair of giant, _beautiful_ golden wings sprouting from her rescuer's back.

She clamped both hands over her mouth as she stared, wide-eyed, at the angel, both to stop the raucous laughter that she felt bubbling in her stomach and creeping up her throat, and because she didn't trust herself not to make any incoherent, excited noises at the time. The angelic woman seemed to be the very _source_ of the golden glow illuminating the cave walls, as the air around her _hummed_ and _crackled_ with amber might and what Ruby could only _assume_ was holy energy. She was _breath-taking_ , amazing, awesome, Ruby thought as she felt her smile bloom even under her hands, and _so cool_ with the two swords and the _sweet_ armour, and… and…

…she looked _tired_.

Ruby faltered at that, feeling her smile wane slightly.

The angel before her looked _exhausted_.

Their eyes met for a _moment_ in which deep yellow stared into clear silver, before the angel spun on her heel and kicked off into the air. A roar from the other side of the small battleground drew Ruby's attention, as the second bug-hulk came _storming_ through the tongues of golden flame, its form charred and burned beyond recognition. The carapace covering its back had been melted off, and all that remained of its wings were two ashen stumps. One mandible had been melted down right to the bone, and its one arm was completely missing. Its emerald eyes darted around in sheer, undiluted _fear_ , seemingly seeking an escape from the blazing heat.

It didn't notice the angel descending upon it until it was too late.

The first swing, a glinting arc that Ruby's eyes only _barely_ followed, took off both its mandibles with a sickening snap. The second swing was already underway by the time the bug-hulk reared back and shrieked in pain. The long, thin blade of the katana-like sword bit into its abdomen and carved a long, deep scar across the flesh, and the moment the blade left its victim, the greatsword nimbly parried a retaliatory strike from the beast's remaining claw with such immovable fervour it sent the insect staggering backwards. The angel's wings splayed out to the sides as she _surged_ forwards, her swords striking in patterns of glinting silver that sundered flesh, bone and carapace alike without mercy. The flurry of attacks brought the beast to its knees, whining pitifully as it tried to shuffle away from its assailant. The angel flourished her narrower sword, its blade blinking in the darkness, before lashing out in a final, decisive strike – and a single note of singing steel rent the hulk's head from its shoulders.

Ruby shuddered just a bit as she watched that torrent of icky, green… _stuff_ squirt from the bug-hulk's new neckhole. With a few last, errant twitches, the monster's body slumped down onto the floor, decomposing near-instantaneously in a series of loud snapping and hissing noises. Just as soon as the second hulk had fallen, the first uttered a _bloodcurdling_ shriek, before a loud, gut-wrenching _snap_ followed by a bone-chilling _crunch_ silenced it before Ruby could even look. Tentatively, she turned her silver eyes to the sight of the beast-on-beast brawl just as another bird's cry sounded in victory. If possible, Ruby's eyes widened even more, and her jaw dropped when she saw the majestic armoured gryphon standing atop the first hulk's corpse, its wings outstretched in dominance and superiority.

She felt a jolt of excitement and joy within herself as the realisation struck: This was the light she'd seen. This was the sight in her dreams that comforted her, that seared away her pains and worries as it shone on her. An angel, an actual _angel_ , and her mighty gryphon…

Despite herself, a laugh bubbled out from beneath the hands she had clasped over her mouth. Her silver eyes shone and twinkled in the sudden glow as she gazed at her rescuers. In the end, she realised, she didn't even need to find that light; it had found _her_ instead. Stifling her happiness – at least somewhat – she clambered to her feet, wiping her hands on her shirt, before noticing something golden glowing on the floor before her. She reached down and picked it up gingerly – a feather, she realised, fluffy and pretty and _so soft_ , she thought.

Ruby cradled the feather to her chest as she walked forwards, ignoring the hissing and the snapping sounds of the other two bug-hulks turning into dust. She cast a wary look towards the gryphon as she moved – the beast seemed to be regarding her with an intelligent stare, seeming both curious and careful, but it made no move to attack or interfere as Ruby walked towards the angel. "H-Hello?" She called to the winged woman, and her voice seemed to jolt the angel into attention – the silver haired warrior turned her own gaze away from the stupid insect's corpse, and regarded her warily. "A-Are you okay? I dunno, you look, uh…" She trailed off, her hands shaking again. At this distance, she realised the woman was _huge_. ' _She's taller than dad…!_ ' She thought with an audible gulp, and it made her even more nervous. "You look tired," Ruby said finally. "And… And those things are tough," she added, pointing to the smoking remains of a bug-hulk with a small pout.

This would probably be easier if her throat weren't so dry, Ruby thought despairingly. Also if she'd taken Yang's advice and _talked_ to people more often, maybe then she wouldn't be so nervous and fidgety and _why won't my hands stop shaking?!_

"I should be asking that of you," the angel responded, her stern gaze softening just a bit, but her voice made Ruby flinch. She even _sounded_ tired. "Did those beasts harm you, child?" She asked, her eyes settling on the small bruises that had formed on Ruby's hands.

"N-No," Ruby squeaked, shaking her head and waving off the concerned glance. "I, I, this is my doing," she said, pointing to her hands, before flinching again as she realised just how those words sounded. "I mean, I didn't do this to myself, I would never, Yang would kill me, and that's not even thinking what Dad and Uncle Qrow would do and –" She clasped a hand across her mouth to stop herself from rambling. "I climbed," she summarised finally. "And… and the rocks were a bit… dumb," she said. "I beat one, though!" She said quickly, abruptly. "Before… well…" She trailed off, looking at the remnants of her scythe off to the side.

"I noticed the remains, yes," the angel responded with a slow, almost heavy nod. Light wrapped around her swords and they faded away into flecks of bright gold, and the woman stepped towards Ruby, slowly. "It is… a surprising feat. These beasts have quite a reputation." She trailed off then, taking a breath and blinking. The tattoo on her forehead crinkled a bit as she frowned. "I had hoped to purge these foul beasts from this world before a human was involved, but it seems I was too late. For what little it is worth," the angel said morosely, "I am sorry you had to witness this… just as I am sorry for what I must do now."

A gauntleted hand rose before Ruby, its fingers splayed out as a sharp, almost blinding white light sprang forth from the palm. Tendrils of brightness wrapped around Ruby's face, almost caressing in their gentleness, but already the young girl felt her eyes droop slightly under the comforting glow. "W-wait… Wait!" She cried, shaking her head and trying to move, shifting from side to side as the energy seemed to _seep_ from her. "What are you doing?!"

"Humans… are kept in the dark for a reason," the angel's voice reached Ruby's ears, soft, regretful, even – but with an undertone of steely resolve. "I cannot let knowledge of me leave this place, little one," she said from beyond the brightness. "It is too dangerous… both for me, and for you. Thus… Thus I must purge the memory of this meeting from your mind."

Ruby tried to think of some kind of counter-argument – she had been having _dreams_ about this for _months_ now, surely that had to count for something? But her tongue was heavy and her mouth was dry, and thinking straight was a colossal chore. She racked her brain for something, _anything_ she could say that might make the angel _stop_ so she could at least explain. Again, her mind recalled all the confusing dreams she'd experienced. It recalled beautiful angels and ugly monsters, worlds of ice and worlds of fire, and…

… _Balance._

She knew what she could say.

It was a _long_ shot, but worth a try – and it was all she _could_ say, on the verge of falling asleep as she was.

So she took a deep breath, pooled what little remained of her energy into her throat, and spoke.

"I know about the Balance!"

And the blinding light disappeared – almost as quickly as it had come.

The energy, the _feeling_ that surged back into Ruby made her _gasp_ as her heart hammered in her chest. Fatigue had been cast down and cast away, as her silver eyes danced with confusion, and fear, and _relief_ , and despite her most valiant efforts she felt her legs give way beneath her, and she sank to her knees. Fearfully, she looked back up at the angel – and shrank away when she saw the expression of pure _shock_ on her face.

"Would you… Would you care to repeat that, child?" The winged woman asked, her tone cautious, and Ruby heard the _slightest_ of quivers towards the end of the question.

"I… I mean…" She trailed off, wringing her hands nervously as her shoulders drooped. "I d-don't know _what_ it is but, it's the only word I can hear in my dreams…" she said. "It's all I ever hear, no matter what I see. When I saw… When I saw angels, people like you, fighting monsters, and when I saw giant bald people singing at grass, _I don't know_ …" She shook her head. "It's the only word I hear. I… I know it's there…" She trailed off, shivering slightly. "…and I know bad things happen when people, when they try to _un_ balance it," she said.

She fidgeted with the hem of her cape, running her fingers along the seams. Finally, with a deep breath, she looked up at the angel, locking eyes with winged woman. The gesture seemed to make her flinch, even if only _slightly_. "I… I know I'm not supposed to know about this stuff," Ruby said sadly. "And, and I know you're only doing w-what you're supposed to… But…" She trailed off, voice cracking slightly. She cleared her throat and shook her head. "Please," she said, "what… whatever you were gonna do to me… Please don't do it. I…" She trailed off again as her shoulders quivered slightly.

"…I don't want to go back to thinking I'm a crazy freak…"

 _There_. She said it. She ducked her head low as she finished speaking, feeling her eyes water slightly. She dabbed at them with her sleeve, biting her lip as she took deep breaths to try and steady herself. The first few months, after her dreams started… They had been a living nightmare. She didn't want to go back to those days – not _one bit_. Finally, though, her breathing steadied, and she looked back up at the angel. The woman was surveying her with an inquisitive eye, but the slight frown that had settled across her features seemed almost… _sorry_.

She broke the silence between them, then, with a deep breath, and slowly moved forward, stopping mere feet from Ruby. Her armour clinked and clanked as scraped as she sank down on one knee, folding her wings neatly behind her as she kept her yellow eyes on Ruby's now fidgeting form. The armoured gryphon had shuffled closer, keeping to the side but gazing at the two of them with a wary eye. "What is your name, little one?" The angel finally asked.

Ruby blinked, clearing her throat. "I-I'm Ruby," she said softly. "Ruby Rose. What… What's yours? Is… it okay if I ask that?"

Despite the grim, sombre circumstances, the corners of the angel's mouth tugged upwards, a ghost of a smile on a weary face. "My name is Uriel," she said simply, yellow eyes shining just a bit. "Tell me about these dreams of yours, Ruby." The caped girl shrunk away slightly at the command, wringing her hands again in a nervous manner. "Worry not, little one," Uriel spoke again, in a placating manner. "If you are experiencing visions… it is beyond your control. Nothing bad will happen to you… I swear it."

Ruby remained sceptical a while longer, staring at the angel – Uriel – with wide, hesitant eyes. She intertwined her fingers to stop herself from wringing her hands, and looked from the angel before her to the gryphon standing leisurely off to the side. The beast cocked its head at her when their eyes locked, seemingly unfazed by the tense atmosphere that her almost-mind-wipe had caused. It regarded her a while longer before shaking its feathers out and laying down, crossing its front legs and resting its head on them before dozing off.

What a carefree bird, she thought.

She shook those thoughts out of her head, though, and turned to face Uriel again. The angelic woman was still waiting patiently, calm and collected despite the slight notes of worry dotting her face. Ruby hiccupped. Even kneeling, the angel was almost double her height. At this distance, though, the young huntress-to-be could see the beginnings of dark rings under Uriel's eyes, and the chapped lips were hard to miss when they were nearly face to face. Ruby glanced back down at the feather in her hands, utterly ruined from her nervous actions, before taking a deep breath. "Okay… Okay…" She said, nodding – whether to herself or to the angel, she didn't know. She looked up again, and once more, silver locked with yellow.

"It… it happened about three years ago."

And so, Ruby told Uriel all about the events that had transpired that horrible, horrible night. She started from the beginning, talking about how she had been visiting her mother's grave before the klaxons and alarms went off. She recalled the oceans of Grimm that surged through the forest with _painstaking_ detail, and when Ruby had reached the part where the giant, ugly warriors descending from the sky in giant balls of fire, Uriel's frown almost scared her into silence. She continued when the angel assured her the severe expression was not her fault, and spoke about seeing the big Leader Ugly. Then she reached the part about the orb – and even though the angel tried to hide it, Ruby saw her turn pale.

The rest of the story passed by quickly after that – she told the angel how she had seen a 'vision' of the Leader Ugly killing her, and how she grabbed the orb and _ran_ as fast as she could. She recounted the Beowolf ambush, and how she had turned her cape into a tiny flail, and she recalled how the orb broke, and made her head hurt _really, really bad_. Then she told Uriel of the woman she had seen, the one with the pale face and the purple hair, before she had blacked out in the snow and woke up at home.

She finished her story and took a deep breath, feeling an uncomfortable sting in her throat. Shyly, she gazed up at Uriel again. "Uriel… If, if you're an angel…" She ventured, trying not to flinch at the winged woman's morose expression. "Does that mean the ugly fighters I saw back then were…?"

Uriel's eyes widened slightly as she realised what Ruby was implying, before she closed them with an almost pained sigh. "Yes, little one. Those were demons you encountered. And that orb… I have heard of it," she said bitterly. "Stolen from a dead world more than half a century ago… only to end up here, cursing you with its darkness…" She frowned, eyes fierce, before her expression softened, and she looked at Ruby with a saddened gaze. "It is truly the pinnacle of unfairness, that one so young must suffer such a blight…"

"Eh, I… I've gotten used to it," Ruby mumbled, drawing her knees up to her chest and surrounding herself with her cape. She looked at Uriel again, an inquisitive shine in her eyes. "So… So what happens now?" She asked.

"I am uncertain," Uriel said, averting her gaze. "I had heard there was a Seer in this world, but I never believed I would have the good fortune of meeting her."

"A Seer…" Ruby wondered, rolling the word around in her mouth. It felt weird to say it that way – talking about 'visions' and being a 'Seer' made it sound _that_ much harder to believe, in her opinion. She was sure Yang would say something about clichés too – she repressed a shudder at that moment. Had Yang been there… she didn't even _want_ to think about that. Yang couldn't be there – as the angel lady said: it was too dangerous. "Is that what I am?"

"Indeed," Uriel confirmed. "Albeit an unconventional one. True Seers are born, Ruby – not made. And yet… Here you sit, seeing visions of past, present and future, possibility and certainty." She trailed off. Her eyes widened then, in alarm, and a note of urgency bled into her voice. "Did you tell anyone else of what you saw, Ruby? Did you tell anyone else about your visions?"

A guilty look flashed across Ruby's face, and she averted her eyes as her cheeks pinked slightly from embarrassment at the memory. "I… I tried," she admitted. "When I was younger I kept trying to tell Dad and Yang – my sister. I was so confused, Uriel," she said softly. "I kept seeing things I couldn't picture properly, and I kept hearing things I couldn't understand… I just wanted someone to understand, you know? I was so alone… and I was so scared sometimes…" She sighed, and closed her eyes. "But… Nobody ever believed me. Kids at school started calling me a freak and Yang kept getting into fights about it, and Dad kept sending me off to doctors and other people. They… They thought I was sick," she said meekly. "So I stopped."

A look of pity flashed across Uriel's face, ever so briefly, before she formed it back into a neutral expression. "…Why did you come here, Ruby?" She asked. "What led you here?"

Ruby blinked, and shrunk back into her cloak as she tried to formulate her excuse. "I… I had a dream," she said. "A vision, like you call it. I, I saw a light there, a light with a lot of feathers, and… I was just so _happy_ all of a sudden in that dream. Like, Yang is always telling me to 'go with my gut', and… my gut told me the light I saw would give me some answers." She shuffled a bit where she sat. "I… I didn't mean to get you in trouble," she said sadly. "I just…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "I just wanted to know what I'm seeing. I don't always understand," she said softly, "and it makes me _scared_ sometimes. Even when I don't remember what I saw I still w-wake up screaming…" She said finally, huffing. "W-Why does that happen?"

Uriel's gaze softened slightly. "It is said," she spoke measuredly, "that sometimes, the _soul_ comprehends what it sees, even when the _mind_ does not. I would wager that such is what happens to you," she explained. "The visions you see are _vast_ , Ruby – past, present, future… all bared before your eyes. You are _young_ – it is only natural for you not to know."

Ruby pondered those words, sniffling slightly. She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself, and broke eye contact with Uriel. "Not knowing _sucks_ ," she choked out finally. "And these dreams and visions suck too," she added. She sat there, shuffling in place, and her nose crinkled as the bug-blood she'd been covered in started to stink. Uriel, Ruby saw from the corner of her eye, stood up, sighing tiredly. A part of the young huntress-to-be thought the angel was just as confused as she was – maybe even more. She was about to look up again, to ask more questions – maybe Uriel could _tell_ her what she was seeing, maybe even give her a rough idea? – but a loud, almost _aggressive_ squawk drew her attention. Ruby's head whipped to where the gryphon had been dozing moments prior; the beast was now alert and back on its feet, feathers ruffled and wings splayed outwards as its muscles tensed and coiled, ready to strike, and its eyes were glued to the glowing, golden fire, still obscuring the cave entrance.

Uriel had tensed up too, in response to her gryphon's warning, and she was looking at the fire too. Ruby turned to see what all the sudden fuss was about –

And just then, she heard the loud, heavy footsteps sprinting towards them.

The fires parted to the side as a _ball_ of glowing light flung itself through them, with a heavy thud two boots slammed down on the cavern floor. Bits and pieces whirred and clicked as two _distinctly_ familiar gauntlets deployed themselves, and with several loud, echoing _booms_ they fired dust-based shells right at Uriel's face. The shots exploded on a barrier of translucent white, and the slight shockwave sent back at the sender blew a mane of golden hair backwards.

Ruby's eyes widened with recognition, and her heart almost sprang out of her chest in panic and fear.

"All right buddy," Yang spoke venomously, eyes shining red as she glared at the cloud of smoke her attack had kicked up. "Back the _hell_ away from my sister before I… before I…" Her voice died in her throat as the smoke was dispersed with a single flap of Uriel's wings, and the red in her eyes evaporated, turning back to their normal lilac shade as the angel glared at her. "… _Whaaaat?"_

Ruby leapt to her feet the _moment_ the feeling returned to her legs, rushing to meet her sister in a flurry of petals. "Yang!" She called out, alarmed, panicked, _terrified_ at the possibility of what could happen now. "Yang, you can't be here!" She said, voice cracking.

"Ruby?" Yang asked, her voice weak from surprise and shock as she tore her eyes off the angel that had just _ignored_ her attack. "Ruby, _what_ is going here?" She asked urgently, rushing forwards and seizing Ruby by the shoulders. "What happened? Who is _she_?" She asked, pointing at Uriel. "And why are you covered in crap?!" A loud surge of wind interrupted her, blowing her hair aside as the armoured gryphon glided over them, landing in front of the entrance and _hissing_ at Yang, wings raised and claws digging into the ground. Yang frowned at the best, hastily shoving Ruby behind her as she redeployed Ember Celica. "What, you want some, featherbutt?!"

The gryphon screeched at her, and its muscles tensed up as though it were ready to strike, before –

"All of you _settle down this instant!"_

Ruby yelped as the command was given. Uriel's voice seemed to boom across the vast expanse of the cavern, strict and unyielding in its authority, every semblance of her earlier softness and weariness _gone_. Even the gryphon flinched, before folding its wings in and lowering its head, almost bashful. Again, Ruby found herself wringing her hands nervously, a habit Yang had been trying to help her break for a _very_ long time, and she timidly turned to look at her sister. Even Yang had lowered her fists, although she hadn't reformed Ember Celica into its bracelet form just yet.

Lilac eyes gazed down at her, and Yang's expression changed into one of confusion and worry. "Ruby, what's going _on_ here?" She asked again, turning to face Ruby. "And who is she? Did she hurt you?"

"No!" Ruby quickly answered, shaking her head almost violently as she tried to quell the ball of ice that had formed in her stomach. "No, she saved me, Yang, she's been real nice and everything. She…" She glanced back at Uriel with a pleading expression, not knowing _what_ to do or _what_ to say. "She helped me," she said finally, voice wavering. "She… She told me what I am. What's wrong with me, I mean." She gulped, the sound _painfully_ loud to her ears. "Yang, you need to leave," she said finally, hurriedly. "Y-You can't be here."

"What?" Yang asked, eyes going wide in confusion and outrage. "And why not?! Ruby, you can't expect me to just _leave_ after –"

"She cannot leave."

Ruby went _stiff_ as Uriel's words echoed behind her, seemingly snuffing out every other source of sound in the room. Her heart clenched painfully as she turned to look at the tall angel. The winged woman was pinching the bridge of her nose, her shoulders slumped almost wearily. But her wings, Ruby noticed, were tense – tense and flared, and the display only served to make the ball of ice in Ruby's stomach grow that much bigger. "W-What do you mean?" She asked shakily, fidgeting with the hem of her cape. "She, she didn't mean to attack you, she was just worried! She-"

"I know, little one," Uriel cut her off, lowering her hand and looking Ruby in the eye. "I know. And had it just been you to meet me in this cave I would have let you leave regardless; truly, I would have. But now…" She trailed off. The silence made Ruby's lungs constrict painfully. "Now, another has been involved – one _without_ your knowledge. Now… I must obey the laws," she said wearily, holding up her hand. Ruby whined, almost inaudibly, when those streaks of bright white light flared to life in her palm.

Again, Ruby was shoved behind Yang's back, and a loud _chk-chk_ signified Ember Celica chambering another round into every gauntlet. "Like _hell_ I'm letting you anywhere _near_ my sis now!" She spat. Ruby whimpered. _This isn't how it was supposed to go at all!_ She stressed. _I thought the light would have answers! Not… Not this…_ "What are you even planning, huh? What are you gonna do to us?"

Uriel frowned at Yang, but it wasn't a hostile expression – not yet, thankfully. There was a hint of regret in her expression, despite the layer of steel lining it. "Nothing so dangerous that you need to raise your weapons at me, sun child," she spoke evenly. "No harm will come to you. I am merely going to erase this memory from your minds, and –"

" _No way!_ " Ruby flinched as Yang's voice interrupted the angel. Her eyes had turned red again, and beneath Ember Celica's protective plating Ruby could see her knuckles turning white. "Do you even _know_ what these past three years have been like?! My little sister has been called a _freak_ , both to her face and behind her back, hell, at times she can't even _sleep_ because of what she sees!" Yang snarled. "Now… Now I find out she's been _telling the truth_ this whole time, and that all the doctors have been wrong, that she's _not sick_ ," her voice wavered here, cracking audibly as every syllable shook, "and now you want to take all that away? Now you wanna send us _back_ to thinking she's _sick_ , when she's _**not**_?!" Ruby could _hear_ Yang's teeth grinding. "No way," the fiery girl said, raising her weapons again. " _No. Way._ I'm _not_ letting you do that, birdie – _not a chance."_

Ruby whimpered slightly as the stare-down ensued between Uriel and Yang, and despite her best efforts not to she felt herself shrinking away behind Yang's taller form. Uriel's expression hadn't changed yet – she still wore that resolute yet slightly regretful frown, her yellow eyes narrowed and calculating. "Sun child… _Yang…"_ the angel addressed Ruby's sister suddenly, her voice much, _much_ lower than the young huntress-to-be expected. "This is _greater_ than you two, greater than _all of us_ ," she said urgently, taking a step forward. "If I do not do this, they will send someone who _will_ , Yang – and that being will _not_ be as hesitant, or as lenient as I."

"And I'll tell them the same thing I told you," Yang hissed, keeping her gauntleted fists up, ready to brawl at a moment's notice. "You can _all_ shove off – I'm not letting anyone near my sister, you hear? You can tell _everyone_ that! I won't let Ruby be afraid a _minute longer!_ "

The declaration made Ruby's throat constrict painfully, and an ache rocked her body every time her heart beat. Hearing Yang's words made her happy, _so_ happy she couldn't even begin to describe it – but there was a sense of panic trying to quash her joy, a mixture of worry and _fear_ and _hopelessness_ pooling in her stomach. " _It is too dangerous,"_ she recalled Uriel saying, " _both for me, and for you._ " Uriel… she sounded a bit _scared_ when she said that. She sniffed as the bubbling mass of sadness in her stomach threatened to swallow her happiness whole. She _didn't come here_ to put her family in danger. She didn't want Yang to go fighting angels and anyone else who tried to wipe their minds… She just wanted answers.

She just wanted to understand, she thought with a sniff.

 _I… I didn't want this…_

With a soft grunt, she screwed her eyes shut and ducked under Yang's upraised arms. Standing before her sister, she ignored the confused – and _panicked_ – exclamation of "Ruby?!" before wrapping her arms around Yang with as much strength as her tiny frame could muster, before burying her face in the fiery older girl's shoulder. "Don't fight…" She mumbled, persisting in her vice-like hug despite Yang's best attempts to pry her off. "P-Please don't… I don't want this… I don't want you to get hurt…"

"Me?!" Yang sounded incredulous. "Ruby if anyone's hurt it's _you_! You've… You've…" She trailed off, arms going limp as her hands still tried to tug at Ruby's shoulders. "All this time, Ruby," she said finally, her voice strained, and the mere _sound_ made Ruby flinch slightly. "You were _right_ all this time and I… I…" She trailed off again.

"I know," Ruby said, her voice _small_ and almost squeaky. "But… Yang, I, I didn't come here for you to fight," she said shakily. "I wanted answers, I wanted to _understand_ so you could _stop_ fighting. I thought that if I understood, m-maybe I could _do_ something about it, just so you and Dad could stop worrying," she said. "B-But now… Now I don't want that…" She squeaked, and tightened her hug. "I don't care about answers or understanding or anything, I don't _want any of that_ if it means you have to get _hurt,_ Yang!" She realised her voice was starting to break too, and she felt her shoulders shaking but she just couldn't care. "I-I don't want to learn _anything_ if it means you'll be in danger…"

She could feel Yang stiffen in her arms, but she didn't relent. She kept her arms wound around her sister, and kept telling herself to _not let go_ , no matter what happens. "S-So, what then?" Yang spoke up, sounding frailer than Ruby had ever _heard_ her. "What, do I just _let_ her erase all this? Do we just _forget_ all this, Ruby? Go back to how it _was_ , thinking you were _sick?_ "

" _Yes,_ " she said with a hiccup, still refusing to let go of her sister despite the hands feebly pulling at her shoulders. "I d-don't care who says I'm crazy, and I don't care who says I'm sick," Ruby said. "I don't care how many times I need to wake up in the middle of the night and _I don't care_ how many doctors I need to go see," she proclaimed with a shudder. " _I don't care!_ As long as it means y-you and Dad are safe, I… I don't care…" She said finally, shoulders slumping as all her energy just… _leaked_ out of her. "I don't care…"

Finally, her lack of energy allowed Yang to pull her away, and the older girl seized Ruby by her shoulders, and looked her in the eye. Lilac eyes were misty with guilt and sorrow, and her face was pale. Ruby noticed the dark splotches of mud and filth dotting Yang's hair, making several stray strands stick to her forehead and cheeks. _She dirtied her hair for me…_ Ruby noticed as her lip quivered. "A-Are you sure, Ruby?" Yang asked softly. "This is… I can't even…"

"I'm sure," Ruby responded with a shaky nod, and suddenly she was grateful Yang had her hands on her shoulders – she was feeling _very_ dizzy all of a sudden. "I c-came here to make things better… for us all…" She said softly. "This, the fighting, the danger… It's not _better_ ," she said sadly. "It's not what I wanted…"

Yang pulled her into a hug again, and feebly Ruby tried to return it. Everything suddenly caught up with her – the long trek to the cave, the harsh climb, the fight against the stupid, _stupid_ big-bug and now the stress of their meeting with Uriel. It crashed into her and knocked the wind clean out of her sails. "G-Give us a moment," she heard Yang say to Uriel, her voice shaking almost as much as Ruby's whole figure was. "There's s-something I need to say."

Ruby heard a weight shifting behind her, the scrape of steel on steel – likely the angelic woman's armour. "Child, I do not mean to rush you," she spoke slowly, _carefully,_ "but our time is short and-"

" _I don't give a damn!"_ Yang barked suddenly, her whole frame tensing up under Ruby's feeble grasp, and the sheer _fright_ Ruby received jolted her awake and into awareness, gasping softly. "I need to say this to her!" Yang said loudly, voice quivering. "I need to say this…" Ruby felt Yang's hands pulling at her shoulders again, and the young Rose took a step back. Yang knelt down, bending forward until they were eye-to-eye, and it suddenly became _painfully_ obvious just how scared and angry her older sister was. "R-Ruby?" She asked tentatively, her voice carrying not even a hint of the anger she had projected at Uriel. "Do you remember what you told me you want to be one day? What you told me, and Dad, and uncle Qrow?"

Ruby nodded shakily. "I w-want to be a huntress…" She said softly.

"And why was that, again?" Yang asked, a smile on her face despite the uncertainty dancing in her eyes. Ruby gulped. Her body still shook from time to time, but for some inexplicable reason, talking about her lifelong dream calmed her slightly. She tried to look back, at Uriel, but Yang caught her by the chin, and turned her head back. "Don't look at her, Ruby. Look at me, focus _here_ ," she said, pointing at her smiling face. "Why did you say you want to be a huntress, sis?"

"I… I want to help people," Ruby said earnestly, her mouth suddenly feeling like the fabric of her cloak. "Huntsmen and huntresses a-are heroes, they, they help people and they help make the world better. H-Helping people is always good, you and dad always say so, right? So, I figure being a h-huntress is the best way to do it. I… I want to help people," she repeated, her mouth suddenly feeling numb as her eyes stung. Her answer, however, made Yang smile – a wide, happy smile that made her lilac eyes twinkle.

"Atta girl," she said shakily, ruffling Ruby's hair. "Now… Uh… Y'know how Dad and uncle Qrow kept saying there'd be obstacles? Roadblocks, the called it?" She asked, and Ruby nodded. "W-Well this is one of them," Yang said shakily. "Sometimes, sometimes your weapon will break, or you'll run out ammo, or y-you'll maybe not do too well in a test – things like that. You remember Dad talked to you about things like that?" Yang asked, her voice cracking, and Ruby nodded again. "Th-This is just like that, you see… J-Just like every other hard knock, you just need to… to get back up, if you get knocked down, I guess…" She faltered then, he smile shrinking. "Ruby, I… I know it's gonna be hard, okay? I know… I know all the things you dream about are gonna bother you, but…" She took a deep breath. "Ruby you can't let that get you down, you hear? You can't let that stop you. You can't let it beat you, okay? You're strong, Ruby, I know you are – you're strong enough to beat this thing, I know it," she said, her voice becoming frailer and frailer by the second. "Can you do that Ruby? I need you to say it for me. I n-need to hear it…"

Ruby gulped. She felt Yang's thumbs brushing along her eyes, and only then did she realise just how much they _stung_. "I p-promise Yang," she said softly, failing to keep the shake out of her voice. "I promise I'll become the best Huntress I can be, and I won't let anything stop me! I won't let this thing beat me, Yang… I promise. I promise…"

Yang nodded, blinking rapidly as a stray tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, though, and offered Ruby a meek smile in its stead. "I… I'm sorry, Ruby," she said, trying her best to keep her smile up. "I'm sorry I never believed you. I'm sorry I got so _angry_ at times and I'm sorry I never tried to understand you a bit more," she said, voice cracking at random intervals. "A-And, if this happens, Ruby, if that angel woman really wipes our minds then I'm sorry if I _don't_ believe you after this… I'm so, _so sorry…_ " She whispered, her eyes flickering and misting. "B-But I have a promise to make too, Ruby," she said, clearing her throat. "I… No matter what happens, Ruby… Even if I get angry sometimes, and even if I don't believe you, or understand you… Ruby, I _promise_ you, I will _always_ be right there next to you, you hear me? I'll never leave you alone, not ever, understand? I don't care how hard it gets… I'll never leave you alone, I _promise_."

At that moment Ruby felt the wetness on her cheeks, and with a hiccup she pulled her cloak up to dab at her face. Yang surged forwards and seized her in one of the warmest, strongest hugs she had ever felt. Ruby choked back a sob as she tried to spin her cloak around the both of them, smiling despite what was going to happen. Yang… Yang would never leave her. She just promised, and that made her _so happy_. Despite the tears rolling down her cheeks, she smiled as she hugged her sister.

Everything… Everything was going to be alright – no matter _what_ happened.

"W-We're finished," she heard Yang call out to Uriel, and once again she heard the scraping of shifting armour. "Do what you need to," she said, lifting Ruby clean off her feet and tightening her arms around her.

Ruby merely closed her eyes, and awaited that feeling of tiredness again, just as a white light illuminated the cave walls.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two humans who found solace and comfort in each other's warm embrace, an exiled angel found herself in _doubt_. Layers of bitterness and cynicism and sheer _fatigue_ , constantly reapplied to her being over _centuries_ spent in the broken Third Kingdom, were finally being pierced, by a light so sharp and dazzling, even a citizen of Heaven found herself awed.

For in passing, and not at all intentionally, those two humans – pure and untainted, loving and innocent – had bared their souls before the last of the Hellguard.

And despite herself, despite all the blackness that had slowly whittled down her hope and resolve, the angel was struck _speechless_.

In a broken world experiencing what _many_ hailed to be the winter of its life, amidst the endless torrents of soulless, dark beasts, and despite all the turmoil, and struggles, and _strife_ between kith and kin, the last of the Hellguard had found two souls that shone with such _encompassing_ light that even she was nearly blinded. In a world divided by fear and loathing, and senses of false superiority and privilege, the exiled angel had found a soul so pure, so _innocent_ and yet so _determined_ to shine a light into the darkness, and strive towards making their world _better_ , and alongside that one, a soul so loyal, so fiercely loving and protective that it would raise weapon and shield against even the most _insurmountable_ odds, just to shelter those it loved from _anyone_ and _anything_ that would harm them.

In the face of such unconditional love, such unshakeable hope and idealism and such _endearing_ innocence…

…was there ever _truly_ any doubt, that the last of the Hellguard would falter, and fail to snuff their light?

* * *

For _centuries_ she had wandered this broken world – it was her self-imposed punishment to atone for the Hellguard's role in Abbadon's madness, and the scars it left carved into the Kingdom of Man, ever since the White City shut its gates to her. For centuries she stalked the Remnant of this world, tracking those who would plummet through the broken walls cordoning it from the rest of Creation, and raising her sword in defence of Man's children should those who did not belong wish harm upon them. But for centuries, she watched Man's children fall to the same vices that claimed them before Abbadon plunged the world into chaos all those ages ago. She watched ruefully as Man's children turned against each other, spiting and slaughtering one another for the most trivial of differences. Despite the threat of the tireless darkness nipping at their heels, the denizens of the Third Kingdom once more plunged themselves into war and hatred.

Every war, every hate-fuelled battle she witnessed struck a blow against her resolve.

And with every blow struck against her resolve, she noticed, there was less and less resolution, less and less _drive_ behind her actions every time she raised her sword in Man's defence.

What was once atonement had turned to penance – and what had been penance had turned into nothing but a burden, a weight on her shoulders to truly do the word 'punishment' justice.

Then…

Then she had met these two children.

Those words from the little red-clad girl – "I know about the Balance!" – had caused this domino effect, this fragile, _confusing_ situation. As Uriel gazed at the two human girls, embracing one another with smiles on their faces despite the tears in their eyes and the sorrow in their hearts, she found herself faltering, wavering, _doubting_ , and in tandem, the strands of white in her hand started to glimmer and fade.

She _had_ to do it, she chastised herself inwardly – she _had_ to erase this memory from their minds. The Council's law was absolute: Until such a time that Man was ready to weather the Forever War between Heaven and Hell, they were to be kept unaware of all Creation's machinations. Why, she did not know – as a disgraced Exile of the First Kingdom, Uriel did not presume to question the New Council _or_ the Four. She held her tongue and did as the Law demanded. She struck down all Outsiders who sought to harm the Remnant of the Third Kingdom, and she purged the minds of any humans unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire.

 _Why, then_? _Why_ could she not do the same to these two simple children?

The girl's words had echoed in her mind, replaying time after time at a _maddening_ tempo. " _I want to help people,"_ the smaller girl, Ruby, had said – not to Uriel, not to the Council, not to the Four, but to her sister. It wasn't some ploy to escape her inevitable punishment, or an attempt at bargaining. It was an honest, innocent admission, and the sorrow lacing her voice did _nothing_ to deter from the _resolve_ in her words.

This girl… She wanted to make the Third Kingdom a better place. She didn't care at all what had sundered it in the first place. She didn't care whose actions and which wars had scarred it, nor did she care about what she could gain or achieve from setting things _right_. No… Her resolve to make the Third Kingdom 'better' seemed to stem only from the unshakeable, unwavering goodness of the fire burning in her soul. It was almost too pure an intention for Uriel to even bother believing – _almost_. She remembered the first words Ruby Rose had spoken to her. Not "Who are you?", not "Are you an angel?" or "What's going on?"

No, the little Seer's first words to Uriel were shaped into a more innocent, almost unbelievably good-hearted question: "Are you okay?"

Another lance of uncertainty pierced her chest, and the light in her palm grew all the dimmer for it. Could it truly be, that she had found someone with such _goodness_ in them? Had she truly found someone _so close_ to what the children of Man had once been, when they first stepped from the dust they were formed from?

Beneath all the uncertainty, all the doubt, all the bitterness and all the cynicism spawned from _centuries_ of witnessing Man destroying themselves, Uriel felt the _briefest_ glimmer of an emotion she hadn't felt for _so_ long, it seemed _alien_ to her:

 _Hope_.

She turned her gaze to the other sibling, then – the sun child. Yang, as she was called. Reckless, rash and overly violent at first glance, Uriel's original judgement of her would have been _damning_. To foolishly lash out at anything that seemed remotely threatening, communicating with loud roars and bared teeth – it was a way of life that would have garnered no sympathy from her. Her verdict would have been immovable, unshakeable – and the sun child could have fought until her lungs gave out, it would not change Uriel's intent.

Then, the angel witnessed the light, the pure-hearted intent hidden beneath the violent attitude and the abrasive personality.

For she had been told of the suffering the little Seer had undergone – of all the scorn and all the disdain, and all the doubt and disbelief. For one so young to face such heartache, it was an almost unfathomable thought. Suddenly the sun child's violence became that much clearer: With the clarity that her beloved sister's struggles were _real_ , _corporeal_ and not attributed to some random _sickness_ as the humans had led her to believe… The child must have sat by the Seer's side, day in and day out, and witnessed the toll it had taken on her.

And just when a semblance of _salvation_ approached them, Uriel had so callously made to take it all away.

And the angel had the _nerve_ to be surprised and offended, when the little dragon bared her fangs and belched smoke.

Reckless, rash and overly violent… but the _love_ and _care_ this fiery little girl had for her beloved sister burned away any darkness that may have marred her soul, leaving it just as bright as the Seer's.

She shouldn't let that sway her, she told herself, _chastised_ herself. No matter how brightly the fires of their souls burned, the Law was absolute. She raised her hand, blanketed in twisting white light, and aimed it at the two children, still embracing one another as though their lives depended on it. She took a deep breath as she watched them standing there, smiling into each other in familial embrace. Even now, she felt herself wavering. The light in her hand sizzled and dimmed.

She had to do it, she told herself.

The Law was absolute.

She had to take these two children – these shining beacons of light, and life, and _hope_ , these whose hearts were purer than the golden shade of her own wings, and dim their fires for the sake of…

For the sake of…

She released a shaky breath, averting her eyes as the light enveloping her hand finally snuffed itself. Her arm dropped limply to her side, and her wings, proudly splayed outwards during the whole encounter, dipped towards the ground as they folded back in. She heard the armour covering her legs clink slightly as her knees quivered. Disgust pooled in her stomach – disgust at the fact that she could not even purge the memories of these two admittedly innocent children… and disgust at the fact that she was even trying to in the first place.

"I… cannot…"

Her mumbled words made the human girls' eyes snap open, and drew shocked, _relieved_ gasps from them as they sank to their knees, looking towards her with wide, curious, confused eyes. Silver and lilac twinkled and shifted in the light her presence gave off, and even her Ortho was regarding her with a mix of curiosity and exasperation, batting its wings irritably. She had tried, truly she had, to do as the Law dictated. She had truly, _truly_ tried to purge the memory of this meeting from the children's minds…

But she could not.

 _Damn_ her, she simply could not.

She moved towards the two kneeling children, slowly and carefully, doing her best not to let her inner conflict show on her face. Ten feet from them, she knelt, neatly folding her wings in as she rested her arms across a knee. She regarded them carefully, and they flinched – it would not be the first time such a thing happened; many humans had found her yellow eyes unsettling. With a slightly tired sigh, she motioned to Ruby. "Come closer, little Seer," she said softly, internally wincing at how _defeated_ she sounded. At first the fiery elder sister would hear _nothing_ of it – her embrace was seemingly like a vice. "I will not hurt your sister, sun child," she tried to placate the lilac-eyed dragon. "Have I not decided against purging your memories?"

"I still don't trust you," Yang said warily, her eyes narrowed. Nonetheless, after receiving a pleading look from her younger sister, she let go, and the little Seer slowly, almost fearfully shuffled over to where Uriel sat kneeling. She regarded the angel with a shy, yet inquisitive gaze, with her face mostly turned downwards as her silver eyes peered up at the last Hellguard. It was a painfully endearing sight – even more so when the little red girl started to wring her hands nervously.

"Tell me, Ruby," Uriel spoke, her voice soft, almost _hopeful_. "I heard what you said earlier. What do you stand to gain from making this world a 'better place'?"

The little Seer opened her mouth to speak, averting her eyes as her lips quivered. The hand-wringing stopped, and she opted to press the tips of her index fingers together in a shy manner. "Y-You just answered that question yourself," she answered – her voice still quivered and her eyes still watered, but there was a familiar resolve hidden in her words. "A better world _is_ the gain, Uriel."

For the first time in centuries, the angel felt her jaw drop. _A better world_ is _the gain_ , she replayed the words in her mind. It was such _simplistic_ logic, almost carefree and unbothered, but at the same time it was just so _innocent,_ so _honest_. There were no ulterior motives, no higher or lower or hidden reasoning, no complex, morally ambiguous ideals hidden in those words. It was a simple, honest little truth, believed by an innocent, honest little girl. " _Why_?" Uriel asked, earnestly, _urgently_. "Of all the things you could strive towards… Why that, little Seer?"

"W-What do you mean, 'why'?" Ruby blinked once, confused, and once again she started to wring her hands. "It's… It's the right thing do… That's why," she mumbled. "I… I want to help people, Uriel. I want to do the right thing… I know it sounds stupid and childlike and –"

"No," Uriel found herself speaking before she could stop herself. A smile tugged at her lips despite her most _valiant_ efforts to stop it, and she had already laid a gauntleted hand gingerly upon the Seer's shoulder. "No, it… it does not sound stupid, or childish, at all, little Seer," she said warmly. How… How could _anyone_ be so selfless, in such a dark, selfish world?

With a tired, yet seemingly content hum – an almost _alien_ sound to her ears – she rose to her feet. She turned her gaze upwards, staring into the cavern's distance, at the dark nothingness beyond the far exit. That was where she had come from, when she and her warbeast had saved the little Seer from the scarab hulks, and that was undoubtedly where their judge would come from. Part of her wondered just who, or _what_ , the Council would send to finish what she had started. One of those vile, loathsome Watchers, perhaps? She grimaced at the thought.

She could not afford a Watcher arriving here. Watchers were but a _step_ , a small, almost tentative step, higher than the Soulless that plagued the Third Kingdom – there would be no understanding with one of them, no reasoning. Watchers didn't care for the fire of the soul – they were hateful, blackened creatures who thrived on agony and strife. If the Council sent a Watcher to erase the children's memories, Uriel was almost certain it would do so with sick, near _perverse_ glee.

No. No, Uriel needed someone who would, at the very least, be willing to _listen_ before judging.

She needed someone who, despite all her mistakes in the past, would trust her.

It was a _precarious_ gambit – a fool's plan, she realised, one that would likely have the Council spitting flames until the Pale Rider managed to calm them, and one that would likely weigh on her shoulders and tarnish her wings until the moment she let loose her final breath.

As she looked back at the two sisters, though, still entwined in loving embrace despite the uncertainty and fear in their eyes…

Uriel decided it was a gambit she would _gladly_ take.

"Little Seer," she spoke up, causing the silver-eyed little girl to yelp slightly in sudden fright. The elder sister tightened her grip, frowning at the angel, but the little red girl… She had an expression on her face that was equal parts fearful and hopeful. Again, Uriel knelt down beside the two humans, her resolute expression never wavering, despite the tumultuous storm of self-doubt and fear that was slowly brewing in the pit of her stomach. "You claim you came here seeking answers, Ruby," she said simply. "You sought understanding, no?"

The red-caped girl merely nodded, meek and shy as her eyes twinkled slightly. "I d-did. But, but I realised it's not that simple. It's not like a fairy tale, so… so I left it."

Uriel nodded, eyes narrowed in contemplation. "Little one," she said finally. "I cannot grant you a complete understanding, of the vastness that surrounds you. There exists knowledge, _powerful_ knowledge, which can – and likely _will_ – destroy any human unfortunate enough to gather it. There are secrets too great, laws too complex and truths far too hideous for a single human child's mind to bear." She was stalling, she noticed. Her throat had gone dry – it was a miracle her voice hadn't turned raspy. "What I mean to say…" She summarised. "I cannot give you the answers you _seek_. I cannot tell you what you see at any given time, and I cannot help you understand what you see. That… is sadly something you need to decipher. It is your curse, your _gift_ to master," she said. "However… I can… _share_ some knowledge. It will not solve all your problems and end all your struggles, little one… It will not give you answers outright… but I am certain it can help you find them, in time."

For the first time since Uriel had first met the little Seer, those silver eyes shone with hope. Ruby struggled, both against the confines of her cape and her sister's fiercely protective embrace. "B-But didn't you say it was dangerous?" She asked, unwinding herself from the red garb that clung to her like a second skin. "You said it was dangerous, for both of us. Why… Why did you change your mind?"

Uriel took a deep breath, steeling herself. "It will be dangerous," she said simply. "Especially if I enlighten you two. That is why…" She trailed off, closing her eyes. Finally, she recomposed herself, and opened her eyes again – her face set into a resolute, determined expression. "That is why I have decided to fight for you, when our judge arrives."

The little Seer squeaked softly when she heard these words, eyes going wide, glimmering with both uncertainty and hope. "Y-You mean that?" She asked softly, as though she were _trying_ so hard to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"I do," the angel answered, nodding. "Your world… is in a dark place now, little Seer. So many of your kind focus on personal gain, and power and other such trivial matters… It is a rarity, to find one such as yourself – one who would fight for her world without pretence or ulterior motive, purely out of the goodness found in her soul." She smiled – a slight tug at the edge of her lips that couldn't even count as the true gesture, she realised, but the absolute _dazzling_ smile she received in turn showed that her gesture had been noticed. "If you are so willing to fight for your world, little Seer… Then I am willing to fight for you."

That seemed to stun the little Seer into some sort of content silence, if the way she giggled and wound her cloak around herself was any indication. Despite the filth coating her apparel, the girl _glowed_ as she processed Uriel's words. The elder sister – Yang, she reminded herself – walked over with a wary gaze and wrapped an arm around the small seer. "What, that's it?" She asked dubiously. "You were just trying to wipe our brains. Why change?"

Uriel took a steady breath as she looked at the fiery girl, keeping her expression as soft as she could. "Because you two bared your souls to me," she said simply, "and within them I saw something so rare, so pure and precious, I cannot bear to see it extinguished. _That_ is why I choose to fight for you, Yang."

The fiery girl's eyes widened before a mixture of expressions flickered on her face. She averted her eyes and grumbled under breath, the display drawing a somewhat muted giggle from her younger sister. It merely served to remind Uriel that, no matter how idealistic her new charges were, they were still children. "M'sorry," Yang muttered, finally meeting Uriel's gaze again. "I was just… Yeah. Sorry."

"Do not be," Uriel said sternly, despite the peaceful expression on her face. "Never apologise for defending your family, Yang – _never_. The fact that you would hurl yourself at whatever may try to harm them… It speaks volumes of the worth of your soul," she said. "Did you truly think your sister was the only one I would fight for?" She asked. "In my eyes, you are worth just as much. You are _both_ worth fighting for."

That, at least, seem to push the fiery girl into another unwilling silence. From the corner of her eye, Uriel noticed her trusted warbeast slinking closer, its wings folded against its body. The Ortho regarded her curiously, a glint in its eyes relaying the fact that it somehow _knew_ what she was planning, _knew_ just how abhorrently foolish it was, and yet… There it stood, calmly awaiting her orders. A part of her suspected the beast would resist, or flee – but looking toward the Ortho now, she realised just how foolish that part had been.

The warbeast had been by her side since the White City decreed its gates would remain closed to her – and its service would continue, no matter the odds.

The great beast shook itself, feathers ruffling, and stalked over to the two human girls. Yang, at first, eyed the Ortho with no small amount of distrust and trepidation, but when it merely plopped down behind them, making itself comfortable where it sat, she relented, and turned a questioning gaze back to Uriel. The angel merely offered a small, barely-there smile in return.

"Sit, children," she said, suddenly feeling her throat go dry again as the most damning prospect of her plan neared. It should have been a feeling she'd become quite used to, this tentative fear – her tenure in Man's Kingdom, and her path to absolution had earned the ire of the New Council a great many times – but none of those events involved telling humans of the Balance, and of the vastness of Creation.

None of those past events had _ever_ made her a target of the Four.

With Death shackled to the Council Stone, one of three terrifying individuals would be sent to be her judge and jury. Uriel looked back at the two young girls, sitting comfortably on the ground. The seer had spun her red cloak around them both, and was almost _bouncing_ with excitement as she sat waiting. That sight, at least, offered her a modicum of comfort.

The Council would not send Strife to deal with this matter – the White Rider was too caustic, too cynical and too impertinent to deal with such a delicate matter. That meant they would send either Fury or War – both were loyal and honourable, unwavering in their service to the New Council. But both of them knew her – she had fought by their side many times in the past. That, at the very least, should have them _listen_ … if she somehow managed to get through to them.

Either way, she reckoned, either the Red Rider or the Black would ride to sentence her.

And when they arrived… she would have to fight.

It would be a foolish battle, she realised. Exile had made her weaker, whilst the Four had grown ever stronger under the New Council's lenient terms of service. Centuries of struggle and strife had left her exhausted, down to her very _soul_. She had no doubt either one of the two sent after her could trample her underfoot with minimal effort. It would be a battle she could not win.

But she did not _need_ to win.

She merely needed to make them _stop_ somehow.

Returning her gaze to the two human children, who were regarding her with eyes shining with excitement and wariness and _weariness_ , she took a deep breath and kneeled once more, before speaking.

"Listen well, children…"

* * *

And thus, for the first time in centuries, Human and Angel conversed, not fleetingly or in passing, not in hushed tones in shadowy seclusion, but openly, _honestly_.

The exiled former leader of the Hellguard told the human children first of the sheer _vastness_ of Creation – she told of them of the endless abyss in which innumerable worlds had been born, and perished. She told them of how the abyss swallowed whole the dead worlds, and spewed out the living – an unending cycle that balanced Creation and Destruction. She told them of the many worlds they could find in this eternal abyss, of worlds of pure ice and worlds of pure fire, of realms more beautiful than Heaven itself, and of pungent hives darker and more fatal than even Hell.

But she gave them no names, no detailed descriptions or folklore or legends. That was knowledge she could be put to death for.

She told them of the never-ending war between Heaven and Hell, a conflict that had shaken Creation to its very core – she told them of all the realms reduced to ash beneath their eternal onslaught against each other, of all the different races and worlds destroyed by the clash between the self-proclaimed Light and the proudly-borne Darkness. She told them of the fickle, fragile truce that now existed between the White City and the Black Fortress…

…but she did not tell them _why_ it existed. That, too, was knowledge she would be put to death for sharing.

Then she told them of the Balance – Creation's one absolute law, and the body of power tasked with upholding it: the Charred Council. She told them of the seven snarling faces that existed outside of reality, those who cared not for the differences between moralities and codes of honour. The Council cared not for good or evil, right or wrong, pure or tainted. They upheld the Balance, no matter the cost or the ramifications.

She told them, however, that they were not without mercy or lenience – although she did not explain more. That, too, was knowledge most forbidden.

And finally, she told them of the most feared force in all of Creation – enforcers of the Balance, cullers of the wicked and the lawless, those who answered to _none_ but the Charred Council itself. She told of them of the beings of _unimaginable_ power, those whose presence cowed even the mightiest warriors of Heaven and the most ferocious legions of Hell.

She told them of the Four Horsemen, the Riders who had pledged themselves to the Council, and now stood as one of the most fearsome powers in existence.

But she did not tell the children of the Four's role, as judges when the Apocalypse, the _true_ Apocalypse, came – nor did she tell them of the Four's origin, of how they came to be. For that, too, was knowledge unconditionally barred from the Third Kingdom.

Finally, the Angel stopped speaking, and settled down, observing the Seer who had so desperately sought answers when they had met. The predominant emotion, she noticed, was confusion – _overwhelming_ confusion that made silver eyes haze up, and small lips tug downwards into an endearing yet worrying frown. She had found more questions than answers, it seemed, and it took the girl a fair few minutes to comprehend that she was seeing things she did not understand because they were not of her own world.

In the end, however, her frown dissipated, and a look of serenity flashed across her features. The gratitude in her silver eyes had been evident when she offered the Angel a small, shaky smile and a muttered word of thanks. She claimed she still did not understand – how could she? Visions of times past and times coming were fickle, after all – but at the very least, she said, now she knew _some_ things. Now she knew more than she did when she came there.

And suddenly, the girl claimed, the sound of thundering hooves in some of her dreams made sense.

She had not yet seen the Four in her dreams and visions, the Angel had realised – but at least now, she knew who they were.

What the Angel had told the Seer would not answer all her questions. Still, the visions would plague her, taking her to faraway worlds she could not comprehend. Still they would wrest her from the comforts like sleep with a sight that could threaten to dampen her very soul. Still they would show her things that would make her shiver and sweat and flee in terror and panic. That would not change.

But at the very least, now the Seer had a degree of _understanding_.

No longer would her visions be alien, or eldritch – merely unfamiliar. Merely… _puzzling_.

Were the visions of _her_ world, she would try to understand – were they of other worlds, however, she would move on, forget about them.

The Angel had seated herself during her tales, languidly resting on the cold ground, her wings tucked in and her posture upright despite her attempts at relaxation before the coming storm arrived. The little Seer excitedly talked about how she was going to look back at _each and every_ drawing in her sketchbook and see if she could understand just a _bit_ more of what she had scribbled onto paper. The somewhat hesitant, faux-cheerful look on her sister's face told Uriel it was going to be an arduous task, if the phrase "That's… a lot of drawings, Rubes…" was any indication, but the fiercely determined expression on the little red-clad girl's face told her the Seer's declaration was not made in jest.

Inevitably, though, their chatter died down as the impending consequences became clearer and clearer. The Angel had sworn to fight for them when the time came – and going by the tentative, hesitant gleam in the Seer's silver eyes, she did not know when that time would come at all. With an almost squeaky voice, the Seer asked the question: "What happens now?"

To which the Angel merely replied:

"Now we wait."

* * *

Silence had settled across the small section of the cavern where Uriel rested with her latest charges. The two humans had taken the liberty to snuggle up to her Ortho, she realised. At first the sudden light weight at its side had stirred it from its nap, and it cast an inquisitive gaze at the two human children. The little seer, Ruby, had squeaked upon seeing this, looking ready to skitter away at the first sign of hostility – but the great warbeast merely shook its head and went back to napping.

It had always been a whimsical creature, Uriel reminisced.

Her attention, however, wandered from the slumbering beast's form when the elder girl, Yang, suddenly spoke up. "What's wrong Rubes?" Her voice, laced with concern, sounded oddly different without the fierce, violent edge it had. "You're all fidgety all of a sudden."

True to form, Ruby seemed to be squirming where she sat. She was frowning somewhat, although the mysterious pink tint across her cheeks made it look less fierce and more frustrated than anything. She yelped, though, when she heard her sister's words, stuttering up a storm as she waved her sister's concern away. "It's n-nothing!" She chirped. "Nothing at all, don't worry about it. Nothing, nothing."

"Doesn't sound like nothing," Yang said with a slightly confused expression. "D'you need the bathroom?"

"Wha- _No! Yang!_ " The little seer cried, aghast, eyes flitting between Uriel and her now-worried sister, her cheeks going from pink to crimson. The red-clad girl could be quite comical when embarrassed, Uriel noted, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards just a hint. "D-Dad's always going about how there's a 'time and place' for everything," the little Rose huffed, crossing her arms and doing her best to disappear into the folds of her cape. "So this isn't the time, so…"

"Actually," Uriel spoke up, startling the two sisters, "we are waiting on our judge, do you not remember?" She said. "I cannot think of a _better_ time or place. If something is bothering you, little one, you'd best speak up now. I swore I would fight for you… but my victory is not assured. It may be the last chance you get."

That statement seemed to _haunt_ the little girl for a moment, her silver eyes going wide as realisation hit home. She seemed to curl in on herself just a bit more, after hearing such a harsh truth, and quickly one of Yang's arms slid around her shoulders and pulled her close. Ruby offered her sister a tentative smile, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. That tint of pink returned to her cheeks again, deepening in colour the more she tried to steel herself to ask whatever question weighed her heart down. Finally, she opened her mouth and –

" _C-Can I see your swords again?!_ "

The sudden silence that followed the question was first interrupted by a loud _slap_ as the bashful little seer buried her face in her hands, and then by the sudden fit of raucous laughter coming from her sister as Uriel felt her face shift into a mask of stunned confusion. _This girl… wants to see my blades?_ She thought dumbly. She had expected some kind of grave, ominous question about what the girl's future held now or how much danger she and her sister would be facing. Instead, she had asked… to see her blades?

"You're such a _nerd_ when weapons are involved, y'know sis?" Yang said giddily as she pulled Ruby flush against herself. Uriel noticed just how _shy_ the question had made the little seer – it seemed as though the girl were trying to wrap herself in her cloak and fold herself into the _tiniest possible piece_. It was quite a dear little scene. _Such a simple girl_ , Uriel thought as she stood, rising to her full height.

Upon seeing the puzzled expressions on Ruby and Yang's faces, the angel offered them the closest thing to a smile she could muster after all the exhausting decades that had gone by. "A simple request, not at all what I had expected," Uriel said simply, "but I see no reason to deny it, if it is one of your passions, Ruby." With those words, the white light simmered into existence in two places before the angel, and several flashes and crackling sounds later, Uriel stood holding her two blades, their tips planted firmly into the ground.

Immediately she heard Ruby's short, shaky intake of breath, and she beheld those silver eyes going wide as saucers. In a burst of red petals the little seer was on her feet, excitedly darting around the two blades, eyes _shining_ from the light the angel's weapons gave off. The entire display drew a snort and a guffaw from Yang – it seemed as though such things were commonplace in their family. Nonetheless, the sheer _energy_ with which the seer suddenly moved seemed to dispel most of the grimness of the current situation. As Ruby 'Ooh'd and 'Aah'd at the sight of the two blades, Uriel found her ghost of a smile widening just a _tad_.

All of a sudden, though, the little seer halted, staring intently at the long, single-edged blade Uriel wielded in her right hand. "This one's different…" She said curiously, observing the weapon's dark sheen and the intricate runes carved into the steel. Uriel was not surprised the girl noted the oddity – a great many people had been confused the day she had started to wield Abbadon's blade, and more still when she refused to set it down. "It doesn't fit with your armour," Ruby summarised, alternating her gaze between the colossal war-sword in Uriel's left hand and the refined, more elegant blade in her right. "That one looks like it matches your armour, sorta like a set," she said, pointing at the greatsword. "But this one…" She focused on Abbadon's old blade again.

"This one was not always mine," Uriel notified her, speaking softly and measuredly. An erratic, _hateful_ , _unreasonable_ part of her blamed everything on Abbadon's foolishness. But the sting of loss, and the pain of the betrayal, eclipsed that hatred even now, centuries after the "Destroyer" had perished. "It once belonged to someone dear to me; someone who is no longer with us. I took up his blade after his demise, and swore I would use it…" _To undo his madness, and the scars he had carved into this Kingdom_ , Uriel thought bitterly. But she did not vocalise those thoughts. "I swore I would use it for the greater good."

The little seer's eyes seemed to sparkle as she processed those words. "The greater good…" She muttered dazedly, before trailing off into silence. "That's so cool!" She raved finally. "You're like a knight! A knight from a fairy tale! You'd make an _awesome_ Huntress if you weren't an angel," she said excitedly, before her eyes widened as she realised just what she had implied. "Uh, not that, not that it's not awesome that you _are_ an angel, I mean your wings are amazing and your swords are just, I'm gonna shut up now…" She trailed off, looking everywhere _but_ at the angel before her.

Smiling placidly, Uriel reached out and laid a hand atop Ruby's mop of red-tinted hair. _A better world is the gain_ , the words repeated in the angel's mind, and it was jarring to know that such sincere, idealistic words could come from such a child-like person. "Fret not," she said confidently. "I understood your meaning well enough. Your opinion of me is flattering, little one," she said.

That, at the very least, seemed to dispel the seer's sudden bout of trepidation and panic, as the worry dissipated and those silver eyes shone so earnestly again. Ruby offered a bashful smile as Uriel's hand returned to her side. Off towards the side Uriel saw Yang gazing at them with a small smile, lilac eyes twinkling slightly. She kept her distance, though – out of caution or hesitance, Uriel did not know.

Then the cavern _shook_.

A loud, metallic boom echoed off the darkened walls and reverberated across the ground, filling their ears with a dull ringing as the cacophonous symphony sounded in the distance. A flare of red shone from the blackness beyond the far exit, ominous and foreboding in its bloody hue as the sound of harsh footfalls accompanied the echoes of carnage. Ruby yelped as the sounds reached them, scrambling backwards, and Yang _surged_ forwards, catching her sister in both arms and turning them to the side protectively.

Yet throughout all the chaos, Uriel barely flinched.

Her yellow eyes narrowed as she gazed at the shining cave mouth atop the farthest natural step. Her wings tensed as the noise started to grow softer and softer, until a distant neigh, almost inaudible, signalled the arrival of tense silence once again. The glowing crimson light faded, allowing darkness to set in beyond the cave mouth again, but the message had been made clear.

Her judge had arrived.

She ignored the violent hisses her Ortho was uttering as she turned and seized both her swords, drawing them from their earthly sheathes and splaying her wings outwards. "Uriel?" She heard the small seer ask, her voice so fragile and soft it seemed nothing more than a choked whimper. "W-What was that?" The angel took a deep breath as she turned her gaze towards the two sisters. Yang had seized her sister in a protective embrace, face set into a determined frown despite the worry lingering in her now red eyes. Ruby had tried her best to disappear into her sister's embrace, her expression fearful and panicked as her eyes flitted between the angel before her and the darkness in the distance.

"Judgement," she said simply. "Our trial has started." She kicked off the ground, hovering in the air as she looked down at the two sisters, and the warbeast so dutifully staying near them. "Stay here," she ordered the Ortho, ignoring the way it had splayed its own feathers outwards in frustration. "We know not if the Rider has come alone. Defend them – at all costs," she commanded, beckoning towards the two humans. The warbeast seemed to _glare_ at her in response, its amber eyes shining with defiance and its wings twitching in irritation – but eventually it relented, letting its wings droop and shuffling over to the two girls. Ruby seemed to notice this, and suddenly all the fear in her posture was gone – she wrestled her way out of her sister's embrace and jogged forwards, brow knitted with confusion.

"W-Wait!" She called out, pale face shining in the light Uriel's flight radiated. "This is it, right? You're going to go fight now?" She asked with a shaky voice. Upon receiving a nod in confirmation from Uriel, her eyes seemed to widen. "You're coming back, right?" She asked, her voice squeaky and soft. "Right?"

Uriel pondered the question for a moment – she would need more than a passing word of assurance to set this girl's doubts at ease. She couldn't fault Ruby for asking such a thing; the girl must have sought understanding with the same desperate urgency Uriel herself had sought a purpose with after her exile. Now that the little seer had finally found a source of ease and understanding… it was only logical she would worry at the prospect of losing it. With a resigned smile, Uriel drifted downwards, landing on her feet again and kneeling before the little red-clad girl. "This will not be the first time I have fought one of the Four, Ruby," she said warmly. "And I will ensure it will not be the last, either."

Ruby looked away regardless, though, face twisted in conflict as she wrung her hands. "You promise?" She asked finally, her voice only _barely_ audible as she still refused to meet Uriel's eyes. It was such an innocent gesture – innocent and absolutely remarkable, that someone who known the angel for such a short time already showed concern over her wellbeing. Uriel reached out and laid a hand on Ruby's shoulder, prompting the young girl to finally meet her gaze. With a confident look, Uriel placed her free hand over her chest.

"I swear it," she said resolutely. "I will return."

For but a _moment_ longer the little seer's look of hesitation and worry persisted. Finally, she shook her head and looked up again, offering the angel an absolutely dazzling smile as she finally stopped wringing her hands. "I… I'm gonna hold you to that!" She said, voice still quivering but somehow lively.

Uriel offered a short nod in response, and rose to her feet again. "For now, Ruby, you must stay here," she said solemnly. "Battles such as the one I am about to partake in… They are not known for being controlled. If the Ortho tries to toss you onto its back, do not resist – as ordered, it will protect you above all else… even if that means taking you somewhere safe." She kicked off again, hovering in the air as she prepared to fly towards her inevitable judgement. "And above all else, Ruby," she said sternly, "do not come after me. I will find you, after the verdict has been reached."

The little seer's equally little nod of affirmation was all Uriel waited for. As she turned and took flight, she noticed Yang striding forward again, moving closer to her sister. She noticed the light in the lowest part of the cavern dimming as she soared higher and higher, and she noticed the last exasperated, forlorn look her trusted warbeast gave her before slinking towards the two human girls.

Then her sight locked on the inky darkness beyond the cave's mouth ahead.

Again, she told herself – this was a fool's gambit; a reckless plan that left far too much to chance. Many times she had clashed with the Four, but not once had she won – her ornate armour covered a myriad of scars she had received, ranging from deep lacerations courtesy of the Chaoseater to flaky scabs birthed by bullets from Mercy and Redemption. Not once had she won – but not once had she truly lost, either.

Many would tell her she had no hope of winning the two human girls' freedom…

But she alone knew she did not _need_ to win.

She merely needed to make her judge _believe._

* * *

Despite the relief that flooded her at the sight, a large part of Uriel's resolve threatened to crumble when she finally laid eyes on her opponent. Memories of being tossed around like a ragdoll, battered and swatted aside as though she were meaningless and weak, surged to the surface as she saw the red hood obscuring a stern face framed by locks of silver hair. The Red Rider looked exactly as he had when she had first pursued him in this world, back before the realm's walls had crumbled and the moon had shattered. The ornate armour on his shoulders, the detailed greaves that could sunder steel underfoot, the gauntleted hand that hid a deceptive amount of brutish strength – it was all the same. The only difference was in the giant prosthetic limb adorning the giant warrior's right arm; Uriel winced when she realised the Horseman had built the ever-deadly Tremor Gauntlet into that arm.

Finally she descended, the heels of her greaves tapping down onto the cold, damp cavern floor with audible clinks as she flared her wings. Her own magics illuminated the smaller cavern – she frowned when she saw just how cramped their battlefield was; it seemed even smaller than their little arena when she had duelled him in the Dry Roads after invoking the death oath.

She could not fly here, she realised grimly – not effectively, at least. Already the Horseman had clipped her wings, and the battle had not even started yet.

"How the tables have turned…" She mused, locking eyes with the giant red-clad warrior. His stern gaze never shifted, his frown never dissipated – but she could see the disappointment in those featureless white eyes. It stung – much more than she thought it would. "Now it is _you_ who seeks to judge _me_ …" She said. "Irony's knife has a jagged edge…"

Silence lingered between them as they stared each other down – one pair of eyes rife with conflict, resolve and the slightest tints of fear, and the other marred by disappointment and bitterness.

"Has exile made you a fool, Uriel?"

Finally, War spoke, his voice hard as steel and cold as ice as he regarded her with that never-ending frown. "This plan of yours is reckless, Uriel – even by our standards," he said, his voice rumbling as it echoed off the cavern walls. "But… you always were narrow-minded. Have you given your actions _no_ thought?"

"I have given my actions more than enough thought, War," Uriel said heatedly, her eyes fierce. "That girl, the seer… I have seen into her soul this day, and I have seen something that shines brighter than anything I have encountered in this realm. I have seen the soul of someone who could do what I, what _we,_ _cannot_ , War!" She said. "She can lead this Kingdom to change, to _improvement_. She can start the children of Man on the path to rising above the scars of Abbadon's madness. Is it truly so foolish of me to try and preserve the light of her soul, in the face of such possibility? Is it truly so reckless to try and stop her from becoming some self-punishing outcast?"

War remained silent, his stern gaze adopting a scrutinising gleam. "Outcast or puppet, Uriel," he said solemnly. "Which is the worse fate, for such a soul?" He waited, just long enough for the look of confusion on Uriel's face to settle in, before continuing. "You have been wandering this realm for centuries now. You have seen the pointless conflicts and wars, and how the darkness has set into the hearts of these beings. Can you honestly claim there is no being in this world who would manipulate the seer for their own benefit?" War asked, his gaze fierce. "Life as a puppet, a pawn, would snuff the light of her soul far faster than life as an outcast would, Uriel."

"In _both_ those outcomes she is _alone_ , War!" Uriel said, urgency bleeding into her voice. "She was scared and confused when I found her, ashamed of herself! She thought she was _sick_ , War…" She said. "I may have broken one of the Council's absolute laws, War, I _know_ , but I have given that girl a _chance_ in doing so, a chance the Council has made no attempt to grant! Is it truly so threatening to uplift someone with such noble intentions, and-"

"Abbadon's intentions were noble too," War cut her off, and Uriel felt her stomach churn as her jaw snapped shut and her voice died. "Foolish – just as your actions are now – but noble nonetheless," he continued. "Was the cost truly worth his grand ideals, Uriel? Did the gains outweigh the losses? I am certain the souls of your Hellguard would disagree."

The words served to deal a blow to her being with strength none of the Four's weapons could ever hope to match. Her throat went dry, and she was certain she had shuddered so violently it was visible despite the plate armour adorning her. "That…" she started, fighting the urge to flinch as her voice scratched her dry throat. "That is hardly fair, War…" She said softly. "You _cannot_ compare this hopeful, innocent little girl to that…" _Traitor,_ her mind supplied helpfully, _fool, monster._ "You cannot compare her to Abbadon."

"No," War agreed, "but there are beings in this world that I _can_ ; men and women who hold a similar command over their kin, and people with a gift for manipulation – what would happen to that 'hopeful' girl if such a being were to realise her nature, Uriel? Can you assure her safety in the face of a threat the Council's laws cannot protect her from?"

"She has her sister with her now," Uriel argued, "Someone who would be willing to face Heaven and Hell for the sake of the seer's wellbeing! I have witnessed the strength of their bond, War – it is stronger than any other I have borne witness to! She was even willing to fight _me_ for the seer's sake!"

"Could she defeat you, Uriel?" War asked, countering her point with a verbal riposte. When he received nothing but shocked silence as a response, he continued. "If she cannot even stand against a single, weakened angel… then what hope does she have against the forces led by men of power?" He paused. "I understand she wishes to be a Huntress, as this 'remnant' calls their warriors. Can the seer's sister truly protect her from those she idolises?" He asked. Uriel tried to answer, tried so hard her throat started to _ache_ , but her voice failed her. "Her sister may fight," War said gruffly. "She may even win, countless times. But in the end… she cannot protect her sister absolutely. She is but human."

Finally, Uriel regained her voice as outrage mounted in her heart. "Only if they are left _alone_ , War! You are so focused on human weakness that you cannot-"

" _Enough,_ Uriel."

The command wasn't spoken harshly – it was not growled or grumbled or hissed or roared, even. It was eerily calm, eerily controlled, and the sheer _tranquillity_ behind the order served to silence Uriel before she could even contemplate what to say next. "There is _nothing_ you can say that the Council has not already considered," War said sternly, that perpetual frown never dissipating. "Unfair it may be… but the risk of the seer falling into the wrong hands is simply too great."

"That…" Uriel's voice wavered, a _damnable_ weakness in her own eyes, and she cleared her throat violently. The way the Red Rider had phrased those last words – she knew their conversation would reach its end soon. Words would lose their value and the argument would be resolved by the clash of steel. That… was a clash she would lose. She _had_ to try harder – dammit, she and War had fought by each other's side so many times, surely that had to mean something? Surely her words merited at least a _sliver_ of trust from him?! "War… _please…_ " Angels rarely begged. But considering the circumstances, considering the _stakes_ … Uriel found no shame in the action. "I… I _know_ the risk is great. I _know_ the seer is as likely to aid this world as she is to harm it, and I _know_ she is but human. But I believe she can rise above the torment, and the darkness of her gift – War, I _know_ she can! But only if we _help her_ , only if we give her a chance," she said urgently. "Please, War… You _must_ believe me…"

For a long while, the Rider of the Red Horse was silent, staring at her in stern contemplation. Finally, he inhaled – a breath that took just a _second_ too long and was just a _hint_ too loud to be considered normal, a fleeting break of the warrior's stoicism lasting a fraction of a moment. "I _do_ believe you, Uriel," he said finally. It was an admission that jolted the angel, and only her mounting paranoia and hopelessness stopped her from reading too much into the Rider's words. "I have seen the seer," War admitted. "It was I who stood over her after the curse assailed her, and the Soulless threatened to devour her. We are all aware of her, Uriel. We are aware of what possibilities exist in her future," he said. At first his voice sounded just as it always had, but Uriel noticed the discrepancy immediately – there was a hint of morose bitterness to the Rider's tone, one she only identified due to spending cumulative _decades_ fighting beside him. That tone… did nothing to alleviate her hopelessness. If anything, it merely increased it. "I _do_ believe you," War repeated. "But I cannot support you, Uriel. The Balance in the Third Kingdom is too fragile – the Council cannot take risks without absolute guarantees."

That was War's final verdict, Uriel realised as she felt the cold grip of despair seize her. Words alone would not sway him – they never had, she remembered, and suddenly she felt foolish for even trying. "What, then?" She asked softly, her voice almost as ragged as her resolve by this point. "Are _you_ going to be the one to purge their minds?"

The Horseman raised his metal arm, and a small circle in the centre of the palm lit up, and within moments streaks of red light snaked around the prosthetic digits. "It needs to be done," he said stoically.

As the light in his palm dissipated with a loud, mechanical click, steel sang, ringing in the stuffy air surrounding the two. Only then did Uriel notice her hands gripped the hilts of her two blades, and her wings had splayed out, bathing the surroundings in dim golden light. It had been an unconscious action, she realised – as thought a part of her _knew_ a battle was approaching despite her intentions of diplomacy. At the very least, she thought bitterly, _that_ instinct hadn't waned. Taking a deep breath she locked eyes with War – the Red Rider's frown persisted, but there was a hint of curiosity in those blank eyes. "I… I made an oath," she said softly, her muscles coiling beneath her armour in anticipation of War's foregone response to this offense. "I am sorry, War," she said sincerely. "Truly, I am. But… I cannot let you do this."

"I understand," the Horseman responded with a curt nod. Despite that, his gauntleted hand reached up and seized his blade by the handle, and with an ominous scrape, the Chaoseater was drawn, its dark blade seemingly drinking the light as the many eyes and maws etched upon it glistened. "But know…" He took an ominous step forwards as he spoke, "that I cannot let them _leave_."

Another step, then another – the Rider of the Red Horse strode forwards, shoulders squared and sword posed to strike at the angel, should she interfere.

A part of her mourned that it had to come to this, that she would have to fight someone so much more powerful than she was. A part of her mourned the fact that she could not break through his stubborn loyalty with words alone, despite the many battles they had faced together after her exile.

A part of her mourned the fact that the possibility of her _failing_ the seer was now very, very real.

But she would not falter – not when she had a cause to fight for.

Again, she reassured herself as the Horseman drew ever closer: She did not need to win – she merely had to make him see _reason_.

With that thought in mind, Uriel steeled her features, and with a downright _fierce_ sneer she hurled herself towards the Red Rider, blades poised to strike.

War noticed her assault easily – no doubt her current weakness led to her telegraphing her attack. With speed belying his tremendous stature he _surged_ forwards, the Chaoseater trailing flames behind him as he charged. With a mighty leap he commenced his assault…

…and their blades clashed with enough force to shake the cavern in its _entirety_.

* * *

Despite her _best_ efforts to be the steadfast, calm, cool and collected figure her sister _really_ needed right now, Yang couldn't help but yelp in fright as the sounds of battle erupted in the distance, sending tremors running along the walls and under their feet. Screw simple 'fighting', it sounded like a _war_ going on there in the shadows, and despite her still not trusting the woman entirely, Yang found a pang of worry for the angel worming its way into her being.

She sighed inwardly as she hugged Ruby's shaking form just a bit tighter. _An actual angel_ , she thought worriedly. _Who'd have thought, huh?_ She feared for the worst when she heard those roars coming from deeper into the tunnel; she had suspected a Grimm, maybe bat-like or something… But finding an _angel_? And then finding out… _everything_ that Uriel told them afterwards? _That_ was something she wasn't bargaining on. Even now, she struggled with what she'd learned.

Again she flinched as a particularly loud clash of steel echoed in the distance, and briefly the darkness beyond the far cave mouth lit up with white light before the shadows blacked everything out again.

That pang of worry grew, much to Yang's ire. Those Horseman-people Uriel mentioned, she made them sound _scary-strong_ – and now she was likely fighting one… for _them_.

A tremor shook Ruby's form – Yang felt it easy, given the near-smothering hug she held her sister with. "Ruby?" She inquired, looking down at her sister with a worried frown. "Something wrong?"

She flinched when her little sister met her eyes, the uncertainty and worry and confusion and _fear_ in those silver orbs all too reminiscent of a darker time in their life. She shook away the memory of the dark days following Summer's disappearance, though, and forced a warm, comforting smile onto her face. "…You think she's gonna be okay?" Ruby finally asked, her voice so soft it could easily be missed under the cacophony of carnage in the distance.

Despite the fact that Yang _was_ worried about the angel, she easily hid it. "Psht. Of course she's fine," Yang assured her sister heartily. "You saw the armour, didn't ya? Did you see all those scratches and chips in it? That woman's seen some fights, I'm pretty sure. She'll be completely fine," she said with a reassuring wink. Granted, she didn't know exactly _how_ good the angelic woman was, but considering the fact she was willing to go toe-to-toe with some kind of superpowered cosmic hitman for their sakes, Yang was willing to hope the winged lady could hold her own.

Ruby hummed thoughtfully at she stared at the distance, eyes squint as she tried to peer past the darkness of the distant cavern mouth. There were no shafts of moonlight beyond that point, Yang noted, and the realisation seemed to make Ruby's shoulders slump slightly as she huffed almost inaudibly. "Hey now," Yang said warmly, tightening her hug just a bit. "I know you're worried. I… Hell, I am too. But we should have a bit more faith, yeah?" She said with a smile. "She made a promise, remember?" She reminded her little sister. "She believed in us. We should believe in her too."

Ruby's eyes went wide as she turned to face Yang again. The fear, at least, had evaporated – the worry and the confusion were still present, but amongst those emotions Yang could see that faint twinkle of hope in her eyes. Then, with a loud hiccup, Ruby giggled, and a small smile broke out on her face. She shifted around a bit, making herself comfortable in Yang's grip, before laying her head back on Yang's shoulder. "Yeah…" She said softly. "She'll come back."

Yang grinned at her sister's words, before resting her head against Ruby's and staring at the cave in the distance. Despite herself she felt four of her fingers wrapping around her thumb, in a childish display of hope. It served to bring an almost disbelieving snort to her lips, but regardless of it all she didn't let the gesture end.

Another clash of steel sounded in the distance, this one loud enough to make even the placid feather-brained bird-thing behind them flinch and caw forlornly. In all honesty it sounded like one _hell_ of a fight, the likes of which Dad and Uncle Qrow usually told them about during candlelit nights after power outages.

Still…

She believed Uriel could win.

Her smile faltered, just a bit.

Uriel _had_ to win…

* * *

Time, Uriel realised bitterly, had not been kind to her.

Pain lanced through her wings as her back slammed against the cavern wall, knocking the breath clean out of her lungs and causing her armour to rattle irritably. She was not afforded a moment's rest, however – with a startled gasp she managed to fling herself aside just as the Chaoseater carved into the stone she had been resting on less than a moment prior. She heard the colossal blade wrench itself free of the stony confines just as she righted herself, and she raised her broadsword just in time to stop it from taking her arm clean off. The angry blade glinted in the light her wings gave off, sizzling from the hellfire it trailed as the Red Rider wielded it against her with grace and agility belying the monstrous weapon's cumbersome appearance.

Again the impact caused her to stumble, and haphazardly she thrust forwards with Abbadon's blade as she used her broadsword to shove War's weapon aside. The thin, dainty blade lanced off the Horseman's enormous prosthetic limb as though it were blunt, and again the Chaoseater was swung in twirling arcs, either clashing against Uriel's broadsword and numbing her arm with every strike, or grinding along the length of Abbadon's blade, pushing it aside as though it were but a small hindrance.

War's blade _glowed_ , then, and he dashed forwards and attacked, a mighty thrust from the blade of chaos aimed square at her chest. Uriel dug her heels in and raised both of her blades, crossing them in the hope of at least halting the Rider's charge… but it was ultimately futile. The Chaoseater slammed into her guard with enough force to make her arms buckle, and she was unceremoniously hurled off her feet and sent sprawling backwards.

She used her wings to kick herself off the ground, stumbling back onto her feet as she tried to right herself. _Ages_ had passed since she had duelled War in the Dry Roads – ages that had withered her own strength while bolstering his.

War did not let her catch her breath – he charged at her, his sword trailing behind him and carving a trench into the stone floor as he went, before he engaged, Chaoseater swinging outwards in a brutal spinning slash; the type of attack she simply _could not_ weather. She splayed her wings and _leapt_ backwards, feeling the heat from the blade's hellfire brushing the tips of her feathers – yet the moment her heels tapped down again, War was upon her, his blade raining strike after brutish strike against her crumbling guard.

She folded her wings in and pulled them flush against her back, minimizing the hindrance they could be in this small, cramped space, and focused on meeting, or at least _weathering_ the Red Rider's charge. Her own broadsword came down in an overhead swing as Abbadon's blade lashed towards War's side. With a resounding _clang_ the Chaoseater batted the dainty black blade aside, but it had left the Horseman's guard open as the broadsword made to bite into his shoulder.

Only, it _didn't_.

A sickening _crunch_ made Uriel flinch as cracks spread along one of her broadsword's prongs, flecks of metal trailing down the stone-carved frame of War's upper body. A face set in solid rock glared at her from under the hood, and with a grunt, the Horseman knocked her broadsword aside with the Tremor Gauntlet, a flash of blue snapping one of the blade's prongs off as the rocky transformation receded and colour bled back into the Rider's visage. Again, Uriel made to attack, raising Abbadon's blade overhead to strike, but the Chaoseater met her halfway – and she lacked the strength to win the clash of blades. The sword of chaos battered her late lord's blade aside, and with another grunt, the Tremor Gauntlet formed a fist – a fist that thrust right at her face.

Flecks of white and red blotted her vision as pain seared the right side of her face. Her neck twisted painfully under the Gauntlet's mighty blow, and her vision shook as she was thrown off her feet. Her back slammed down on the cold ground and her wings lit up with agony as she slid across the coarse surface, and she felt warm blood trickle down the side of her face and into her eye.

She _heard_ the Chaoseater before she saw it – and pitched herself to the side mere _instants_ before the burning blade smashed into the ground where she lay, flinging flecks of singed stone and a cloud of dust into the air.

With a series of panicked movements she scrambled to her feet. She held her arm outward as her own magics surrounded her gauntlets, and Abbadon's blade flew hilt-first towards her. She used one of her wings to wipe the blood out of her eye, not _daring_ to lower her guard against the Horseman's aggressive attacks. Her fingers wrapped around the dainty blade's hilt just as War came barrelling from the dust his last attack had kicked up, and with a strangled battlecry she met him head on once more, despite the ringing in her ears and the spots in her vision.

Again, the Chaoseater swatted Abbadon's blade aside and again her broadsword rose to block its retaliatory strike. But Uriel was dazed and staggered; she swung again, slashing forwards with both swords, but the Horseman had dashed to the side in a bout of speed no being of his bulk should be allowed to have, and Uriel lurched as the Tremor Gauntlet slammed into her stomach, lifting her clean off her feet. She heard her armour cracking and crumbling as her breath left her in a pained heave, and for a brief _moment_ her vision flickered dark. She splayed her wings out again, using them to launch herself back off War's colossal fist, and as she soared backwards she felt the Chaoseater's blade pass by her face so narrowly the heat from the hellfire singed the blood from her wound.

She landed on her feet with a loud _thud_ , and only through strenuous willpower did she manage to stay upright. War had not moved from his spot, finally allowing her a moment of respite in their battle, and Uriel swayed in place slightly as her vision flickered again. The ache permeating the side of her face sank as deep as the roots of her teeth and the shot to her stomach left her just about ready to retch, but she remained upright nonetheless, her blades poised to either block or strike at a moment's notice despite her immense fatigue and pain. War remained unmoving, Chaoseater drawn and Tremor Gauntlet clutched into a fist. His face was as impassive as ever, but the glint in his blank eyes conveyed his message quite clearly.

 _This does not need to go on._

Desist, stand down, and the fighting would stop.

But…

…that would mean breaking her oath.

That would mean hurling those two children back into darkness.

…and that was not an option.

A bolt of bright golden magic was her response to War's unspoken offer. The fires enveloping Chaoseater's blade sizzled and died, and with a ghostly wail the faces adorning it shed a light-blue mist that enveloped the blade. War's frown deepened but a _fragment_ as he batted the projectile aside as though it meant nothing.

That did not deter Uriel in the _least_.

Flourishing her blades and shaking her pain and fatigue away as best she could, she was the one to engage this time. Her wings radiated light as she brought both her blades down in an overhead strike, one that clashed against the flat of the Chaoseater's blade, sparks flying as she pushed forward with all the might her exhausted frame could muster. She felt the Horseman's guard shift as he took a step back, and slid her blades off his, using her wings to push her into a deadly spin, the edges of her blades trailing white light. They clashed again, the sheer momentum behind Uriel's attack making the Chaoseater shift under her onslaught. War's eyes seemed to narrow in curiosity – Uriel responded by firing yet another resolute smite of magic square into his face.

It made him take but a single step back again, but it was all she needed.

She pressed her assault, alternating between powerful sweeping attacks from her dual blades and pinpoint smites from her own holy might, but the Red Rider's guard was as insurmountable as ever – every strike she hurled at him was either parried or blocked, and every burst of magic was shrugged off with but a grunt of annoyance.

Still, she persisted.

Once more she engaged with an overhead strike, her blades paralleling each other as she swung them downwards and once more, they clashed against the Chaoseater's sharp edge. Their blades remained locked again, with Uriel trying her best to gain ground and War resolutely refusing to give any, before the Red Rider tired of their game. With a grunt, the Tremor Gauntlet slammed into the Chaoseater's blade, and the successive quake that channelled through the blade pushed Uriel back into a stumble. The Horseman's blade lashed out again, arcing sinisterly in the glow of the angel's wings. She used her broadsword to push the blade aside again, and pitched herself into a haphazard evade as the Tremor Gauntlet shot towards her face again. It missed by a hair's breadth, but the panicked movement had thrown her off balance completely – the powerful backhand following the missed punch caught her square across the chest.

 _Again_ Uriel felt herself being hurled backwards by the force.

This time, however, she managed to retain her footing without error.

The eerie blue glow enveloping the Chaoseater's blade dissipated, but the blade remained poised to strike. The Red Rider's gazed lingered on her for a while longer, before darkening slightly as his frown deepened. The faces etched into the Chaoseater's blade changed suddenly, turning from despairing to _sneering_ in a blink, their eyes turning red as the colossal blade started to weep blood. It enveloped the weapon entirely, painting a grotesque picture of the sword's true nature. Uriel flinched when she saw this – she _knew_ what that coat of blood meant.

War was finished playing around – this battle, if it could even be called that, would end soon.

Uriel prepared herself for his final onslaught. She saw the odd plate that shifted around War's normal hand, and before her eyes a spectral chain coiled around his gauntlet like a snake, its sharp tip poised to strike out at a moment's notice.

For a few painful moments, there was only silence.

Then the Horseman _charged_.

Stone cracked underfoot as he propelled himself forwards, his blade trailing a malicious arc of red behind him as the Tremor Gauntlet hissed and shook, strands of bright blue coiling around it. In the face of such an overwhelming assault Uriel could not _hope_ to clash with him – she splayed her wings out and propelled herself back, forming her own magic into glimmering white swords around her. They trembled in the air for a moment before launching right at the charging Horseman – and _shattered_ when he used the Chaoseater to bat them aside as though they meant nothing. She pointed Abbadon's blade forwards, then, and four glowing runic arrays circled around it, loosing a torrent of golden bolts at the incoming warrior.

The first rebounded off his shoulder plate, singing it slightly.

The second slammed into a thigh, charring the leather holding a holstered four-barrelled pistol in place.

The third, and every one thereafter, meant _nothing_.

Uriel's eyes widened in panic and fear, as War's form once more turned into living stone. The varying shades of red and brown dotting his figure turned cracked, moss-covered grey as the Rider's eyes shone solid red. Her barrage of arcane bolts popped and burst as they slammed into his now unstoppable visage, and only _now_ did Uriel realise just how close the Horseman was.

She only _barely_ got her guard up when Chaoseater slammed into her, bolstered by War's own glory and might. The impact shocked her arms and sent quakes running up and down her spine, and despite digging her heels in she was literally being pushed back as though she weighed _nothing_. He broke their clash, then, holding his blade with both hands as he brought it down in a strike that would undoubtedly have cleaved her in two had she not willed her magic into a barrier that she reinforced with her blades. Even that did not hold entirely under the force, and Uriel felt the sheer weight behind the attack make her knees buckle slightly.

She flinched, and nearly lost what little strength she had left in her legs, when yet _another_ crack bloomed along the length of her broadsword.

The golden light from her wings disappeared then, swallowed by a brilliant blue hue, and only sheer instinct and panic-stricken reflex saved her from a debilitating blow as the Tremor Gauntlet crashed clean through her barrier. It sailed past her as she threw herself aside, raising Abbadon's blade and resting it on her broadsword's crossguard as the Chaoseater once more lashed outwards. The impact shook her arms and shoulders and sent numbness cascading across her wings, and her stomach lurched as a sickening sound of twisting metal signalled the dainty blade bending harshly under the tremendous force behind War's attack. She was hardly granted a chance to _try_ and regain her footing; the Tremor Gauntlet smashed into her side with enough force to make her hack up blood, and her vision blacked out completely as her armour shattered like glass. The sheer force behind the blow had sent her sailing back.

She had barely reached her short flight's apex when she _heard_ the final phase of the Red Rider's attack.

With a loud hiss, the chain coiled around arm was undone, lancing outwards like a beast seeking blood. The sharp tip split open into a three-pronged grapple, and latched right onto her outspread wing's joint. The pain from the grip served to dispel the darkness in her vision, and with a fearful heave she twisted in mid-flight, discarding Abbadon's now worthless sword as she struggled to pry the grapple off her wing – but War would not allow it. With a single, powerful jerk he pulled the chain taut, and Uriel's momentum was brought to an end as she was forced to a stop. Pain _flared_ across her back as her wing was abused by the abyssal tool, and she slammed down hard on the ground as momentum cut her flight short. Her armour crunched painfully as more chips of steel broke off, and the sudden ache in her wing drew a pained whimper from her throat despite her most _valiant_ efforts to stop it.

But War, it seemed, was still not done.

The chain sang a cacophonous song of grinding steel and mechanical hisses as it started reeling Uriel in by the wing it grasped. It drew a bark of pain from her as she scrambled to her feet, trying to ease the strain on her wing, but every time she came close to regaining her footing War would jerk the chain forwards and send her sprawling on all fours again. The song of grinding steel intensified, grew _louder_ as it was reeled in faster and faster, each errant tug drawing gasps and grunts of agony from the grounded angel. War grasped the chain with the Tremor Gauntlet, then, and with a mighty tug he _pulled_ Uriel to her feet – it took her a moment to realise the sudden scream of agony had been her own. Her hands grasped her broken, crumbling broadsword with such strength they were going numb, and spots of white and black flickered across her vision as she drunkenly stumbled forwards. She blinked to clear her vision, noticing the glow of her own wings had faded so much it had returned their battleground to darkness.

Then the cavern lit up again, in an almost _blinding_ bright hue.

Through squinting eyes Uriel saw War, mere feet before her – and to her absolute horror she saw the Tremor Gauntlet raised and poised to strike, the streaks of blue energy coiling around it shining so bright it banished the darkness in her own golden glow's absence. Her eyes shot wide open, barely even registering the sting of the bright light. She grit her teeth, digging her heels in and trying to pull as far away from the destructive weapon as possible, only for a flash of white to shake her vision into blurriness as her wing strained against the chain grasping it.

A loud impact echoed from within the Gauntlet – steel ground as something locked in place, and the two red eyes adorning the appendage glowed _red_.

In the face of such a deadly attack, Uriel did the only thing she could.

She raised what remained of her broadsword and stood ready to parry, and poured _every ounce_ of what remained of her own might into another holy barrier. Gold clashed with bluish-white as the dome of power surrounded her, a translucent sphere etched with runes and glyphs only an age-old denizen of Heaven would know. Then she ground her teeth together, anchored her legs as best she could, and braced for the assault.

The Tremor Gauntlet moved in a blur of steel, one she could not even hope to follow…

…and when it collided with her shield with a thunderous crash, Uriel's vision went white.

* * *

Yang and Ruby both shrieked in fear and panic as a _titanic_ quake shook the cavern – the tremors were strong enough to make them hop in place, their entwined forms shifting from spot to spot as dust poured from the trembling walls. The explosion in the distance was loud enough to make their ears ring and the way it echoed off the darkened walls weren't helping. Yang _swore_ she would be sporting a bruise in the morning, what with the way Ruby had latched onto her midsection, but she was too busy rolling out of the way of falling rocks to actually _care_.

The gryphon behind them screeched, whether from panic or pain or _whatever_ the hell else, Yang didn't know. She spared the briefest of baleful glares for the useless bird before returning her focus to the task at hand. With strength belying her young frame she scooped her sister off the ground, backpack, cape and all, and started darting around the moonlit cavern as chunks of stone tumbled from the roof. All the while her heart raced at almost a million miles a minute – maybe more, she couldn't be bothered thinking now. Dodge certain rocky death first, weave elaborate, boastful tale later – that was something she could get behind.

Finally, the chaotic rumbling died down, and Ruby's wails of panic and terror ended along with it. The tremors dissipated enough for Yang to stand comfortably without worrying about adjusting her balance, and the cavern roof finally stopped trying to kill them, so the current calm after the storm was quite welcome. Again she shot a baleful glare at the gryphon behind them. "Fat load of help _you_ were," she groused, and her irritation only spiked when she noticed the stupid bird hadn't even registered the fact that they were _alive_ – its eyes were locked upon the distant cavern mouth, shining in the moonlight. "Defend us at all costs. Psht. _I_ could've done better," she said hotly, before shaking the trembling bundle of red and black in her arms lightly. "Rubes? You okay?"

" _No…_ " came the honest answer, squeaked with a pitch high enough to almost cause an echo. Ruby burrowed herself out of her little red cocoon, silver eyes scanning the dim darkness around them warily. "…Is it over?" She asked in a clipped tone. "…The roof's not gonna come down on us is it?"

The adorable sight made Yang chuckle as she set her sister down. Ruby quickly let go, winding her cape around herself again. "Nah, I think we're okay now. That was freaky, though," she said, some of her good humour evaporating as the thought about the explosion that shook the system of caves. She did her best to keep a grin on her face – for Ruby's sake, if not her own. The sudden eerie silence was almost oppressive; as though the darkness around her was trying to weigh her down.

The battle was over, it seemed. No more clashes of steel or harsh explosions sounded in the distance, and nothing lit up the darkness beyond the far cave anymore. "…You think it's over?" Ruby asked shakily, silver eyes locked on the darkness in the distance.

"I…" Yang started, mirroring her sister's actions. It had been one hell of a fight, she was damn sure about that – especially if it ended up causing a small earthquake. A part of her really wanted to comfort her sister, tell her that _of course_ Uriel had kicked ass and was on her way back as they spoke. However, the sudden bout of _nervousness_ she was feeling stopped her; that oppressive sense of worry that tugged at her heart was almost overpowering. "…I don't know, Ruby," she said finally, softer than she had ever heard herself speak.

That was what bothered her, she realised – the _silence_.

When the fight was raging she at least knew what was happening. She didn't know who was winning, she didn't know what weapons were being used and she didn't know how many people there were but at least she knew _something_ : nobody had lost and nobody had won, at least not _yet_.

Now… Now the silence took away what little she knew about the situation.

The teachers at Signal were always telling her how no knowledge, and no information often spelled a terrible, _terrible_ situation.

The sheer _worry_ and _fear_ she felt right now told her that they might just have had a point.

* * *

Coughs wracked her battered body as the dust settled in her mouth, and she choked on the globs of thick blood pushing up from within. Through squinted eyes she could make out nary a detail; everything was fuzzy, blurry, a swirl of sepia, a cocktail of dark, murky colour that swallowed up all other detail. Pain sank fang-like bursts into her side with every heartbeat and the slightest movement of her arm caused spots of white to flicker ever-so-briefly across her vision. She had been bested, she realised amidst the haze of agony. She had been bested, and _broken_.

With a ragged gasp she tried to sit up, yelping in pain as every muscle in her left arm lit up as though they were on _fire_. It was a searing pain that pierced right to the centre of her head, a lance of agony that barred every possible thought for a few scant seconds. Distantly she heard small pieces of armour clatter off her now-worthless limb as she _forced_ herself into a sitting position. The shift in posture made her head throb, and she nearly keeled over again – she could not recall _ever_ feeling so much agony.

Slowly her vision returned to her, the sudden contrast making her headache worsen by leaps and bounds. With a groan, she surveyed her surroundings, searching the clouds of dust for the warrior who had managed to lay her so low. Her eyes locked on a shock of red fabric, and again the pain shot straight to the front of her skull. Unperturbed, she gritted her teeth and raised her good arm. It felt as though the limb weighed a ton, but she struggled through the fatigue and the agony, until her aim was adequate.

Bested, but not dead.

She still drew breath, she told herself stubbornly. She could still _fight_.

A spark of golden light flew from her fingertips, one that the hulking red figure easily sidestepped. The flash of light and sudden movement made another wave of pain travel up her spine and settle in the back of her head, but she pushed on, even as her vision swam. Again, a bolt of light fired from her fingertips and again the figure sidestepped, grunting in disapproval – whether at the pitiful aim or the equally pitiful attempt to fight, Uriel did not know. She tried a third time, adjusting her aim, before a cold, gauntleted hand slapped her own aside.

Before she even knew what was happening, she felt the fingers wrapped around her neck – and hoarsely, she cried out in pain and frustration when the hand wrapped around her throat hoisted her high into the air, as though she weighed a pittance. The sudden pressure on her neck compounded her headache, and the arm dangling uselessly at her left side made her heart skip a beat with every sway. Yet still, she found the energy to feebly paw at the arm holding her up, and she could still muster enough ire to glare at the person beneath her.

The glow from her wings had all but faded, yet War's outline was still visible. That arcane mark carved into his forehead glowed from under his hood, just bright enough to illuminate his eyes – those blank, white eyes, now filled with distaste and disappointment and _anger_. "All of this punishment," he spoke calmly, measuredly, despite the fury in his eyes, "for two simple human children. Have you lost all reasoning, Uriel?"

Despite the almost crushing pressure on her windpipe, she still managed an answer. "…No," She heaved, still pawing at his gauntlet with her good hand. She lacked even enough strength to form a proper grip. "Not just for two children, War… I weathered this battle, for a possibility…" Finally she found a way to at least wrap her fingers around his wrist. "I weathered this punishment for… for _hope_!" She rasped. "Fighting for the chance, to see this world mended, War… To see the children of Man returned to how they were, before Abbadon's madness fractured this realm…" She gasped, blood trailing down her chin. "…Is that truly unreasonable, War?"

War's face remained impassive as he pondered her words. "No," he answered honestly – yet the anger in his eyes remained. "It is unreasonable," he said, his inflection spiking just a hint, "to wager the fate of this realm, and _risk_ what little Balance exists here, for something as capricious as blood."

At these words, Uriel felt _heat_ flood her – anger, outrage, frustration; it all spiked within her being as she ground her teeth. "Cap…?" She spat. " _Capricious?!_ Was it _capricious_ when your brother stormed across Creation for your sake, War?" She hissed. "Was it _capricious_ , when your brothers stood by side when the Old Council turned Heaven and Hell against you?!" She demanded. "Who are you, to doubt – the power of _blood_ , and _family_ , when yours have done so much for you?!"

She only noticed how _loud_ she had become during her rant when she heard her voice echoing softly off the cavern walls. She had thought her bout of outrage would persist as she hung there, sucking in air through clenched teeth. But the strength she had gathered in her hand left her, and she felt her body go near-limp again. Her mangled arm twitched, and she winced, idly wondering if the limb had been sundered beyond salvation, but she powered through the pain, and looked down at War again.

The frown was ever-present – she should have expected as much.

But…

The anger in those blank eyes had disappeared – as had the disappointment, and the distaste.

Uriel's body jolted as her feet landed on solid ground, and only now did she realise she was looking _up_ at the Red Rider – not down anymore. The cold steel of his gauntlet dissipated as he withdrew his hand from her next, leaving her standing on shaking legs – legs that gave in under her weight. She fell to her knees with a pained groan, her wings splaying out on the ground behind her as she nursed the almost overpowering ache in her side that had returned once her rage had withered and died. Cautiously, she turned to look up at War, through eyes squint from pain and fatigue. The Horseman had taken a few steps back, regarding her with that same frown, and that same curious glint in his eyes, as he had before their battle started.

"I am not so foolish," Uriel spoke, voice slurred from her injuries, "to believe that blood, is an absolute bond, War," she said shakily, swaying slightly where she sat. Her free hand drifted to her mangled arm, hoping to inspect it – the lightest touch made her gag from pain. She turned to glance at it – it was bent at odd angles and had turned blue from bruising; it resembled a tree branch more than arm. It was beyond saving, it seemed. "But… nor do I believe that the Four, are the only siblings in Creation who are loyal to each other above all else." Again, her mangled arm twitched, and the pain very nearly made her fall over again. She would need to do something about that limb… "War," she spoke solemnly, her voice cracking – from pain, or fatigue, or emotion, she could barely comprehend. "The seer, and her sister… I know they are but human. I know they have their fatal flaws, and crippling weaknesses, just as any other human… But…" She trailed off, gritting her teeth and steeling herself. Her mangled limb erupted in golden flame, and only through insurmountable will did Uriel prevent herself from screaming her lungs dry. Her gauntleted hand wrapped around the burning flesh, the touch barely noticeable amidst the torrent of agony her actions had caused. With a pained, lengthy groan, Uriel _pulled_ , and felt the charring flesh and brittle, broken bone give way until the mangled, useless limb came clean off. Her head lolled back as she swayed almost violently, blinking white spots from her vision as she tossed the burning limb aside. Her fatigue was so great, she realised, that it barely flew two feet.

She kept the fires stinging at the stump of her left arm burning just a _little_ bit longer, long enough to fully cauterise it, before snuffing it with a flick of her wrist. The stinging sensation was much more pronounced, much more _constant_ than her arm was when it had been mangled beyond salvation. But _this_ pain was bearable, she thought dazedly. This injury could be healed – her arm, could not. She turned her gaze to War again, shaking away the hints of sweet unconsciousness that tugged at the corners of her vision. The Red Rider had taken a step forwards, his frown replaced by the _mildest_ look of surprise and concern. He scowled at her when their eyes met, a non-verbal scolding for her 'foolishness' passing easily between them.

"They… I saw into their souls, War," Uriel said softly, placing her hand – her _only_ hand – on the ground to keep herself from swaying back and forth. The stump of her left arm still stung, but she gritted her teeth and powered through it – she had survived _far_ worse than a simple amputation before. "I cannot know what their future holds," she said, her eyes never leaving War's. "I cannot know what occurred in their past and I cannot know what their present life stands as. But…" She trailed off. "But I _know_ , without doubt or question, War: the seer's heart is pure as light, and her sister's love for her… cannot be extinguished."

Heavy footfalls drew her attention, and as she blinked away the fatigue she realised War had knelt before her. His face was set into that same frown everyone had attributed to the Rider of the Red Horse, and his eyes, for once, were unreadable – and yet, in his normal hand he held a crystal, glowing bright green. His prosthetic hand gingerly raised hers, and he placed the jewel in her palm – it was cool to the touch, but she suspected it _would_ be, after she had just clutched a burning arm in her hand. With a quick, almost habitual flick of his wrist, War broke the crystal as it lay there in her palm. With ghostly wails, the souls trapped within flooded out, surrounding her in a bright emerald glow. She smiled as she realised just what this was; War had used one before, _long_ ago; after his battle against the Black Hammer - before his battle with _her_.

She sat there for a while, occasionally uttering a content hum every time the healing crystal would draw the pain from one of her wounds and ease the tension from her muscles. Even her stump ached less now, despite it being charred almost to the bone. It would not be enough to heal her completely – such small trinkets hardly ever were – but it would ease her discomfort. It was… an oddly thoughtful gesture of the Red Rider, one she had only been exposed to a handful of times. Her eyes fluttered open as the souls finally dispersed and dissipated, and she took a deep breath. She was still plagued by aches and pains, and she was certain her ribs were still broken – but at least now, withstanding her ailments was not a herculean task. She noticed War had stood up again, and was once more regarding her from afar. "…Thank you," she said softly. She received but a curt nod in response. War's frown was still set in place – but still, his eyes betrayed no emotions. "Do… Do you remember the pledge I made, the day I took up Abbadon's blade, War?"

"I do," the Horseman responded, speaking for the first time since he had set her down. His voice was steely as always – it, too, betrayed nothing. "The New Council, and the Four, absolved you of that oath the day you made it. It was a fool's pursuit, a goal no single being could reach."

"A goal no single being could reach," Uriel mirrored. A hint, a single syllable of a bitter, _bitter_ chuckle escaped her as she sat there on her knees. "I did not believe so at first. With Abbadon's blade in hand and my exiled brothers and sisters at my side, I came to this Kingdom, War. I believed…" She trailed off, shaking her head morosely. "I believed I could undo Abbadon's madness. I thought, certainly, if the Destroyer could be defeated by a shackled Horseman, and the old Charred Council could be overthrown by the Four, with minimal aid from the First and Second Kingdoms… Surely, I thought, I should be able to set right what my Lord had damned with his foolishness…" She trailed off again. " _I_ was foolish, in thinking that; as foolish as I was in thinking I could kill you," she admitted. "We… Ten of us remained when I realised it truly was a fool's dream," she said softly. "Undoing Abbadon's foolishness was not an action – it was a _process_. A slow, arduous, painful process – one I could not hope to complete. I…" She wavered for a moment. "I wept that day. When I realised I could do _nothing_ to mend the scars, I wept…" She shook her head again. "I truly believed it was a lost cause."

Finally she met War's eyes again. The walls around her lit up as her wings started glowing again – the feathers shone in the darkness, dispelling the shadows. War's visage became clearer, flecks of red and brown and grey appearing amidst the dark dust trying to obscure him. "I realised," she repeated, "that it was not a goal, but a process; one I cannot start, or finish," she said evenly. "But War… I have found someone who _can_. I found her in this cave, frightened and confused and alone, and… I wish you could have _seen_ what I saw, War…" She trailed off. "I know, that there is great risk involved, War. I know seers across Creation have been seen as loose cannons, as double-edged swords, call it whatever you will. I know _human_ seers are the most inconsistent of all – as likely to fall to madness as they are to ascend to greatness. But her drive, her goal in life, War… it has _nothing_ to do with her curse. It has _nothing_ to do with her visions – she does not _care_ for what lies in other worlds. She…" She trailed off. "Ruby Rose cares only for making a difference in _hers_ , War. I do not believe in her _curse_ , War. I believe in her _soul_. It is _there_ that her strength lies."

She was slightly winded by now – Uriel could not remember the last time she had spoken so passionately, so _zealously_ about something she believed in. Not since the days of old, when Abbadon was still her lord, Leader of the Hellguard, and not the fallen traitor, the Destroyer. It… It felt wonderful, to speak of something with such fervour again. All the while she had yet to break eye contact with the Horseman – War's gaze remained impassive as ever, but Uriel knew he was not the only one watching.

It was very likely Death was watching too, from the Council Stone. And if he were observing her… that was the closest she was _ever_ going to get to obtaining an audience with the Charred Council.

"How many battles have we fought together since my exile, War?" Uriel asked earnestly. "How many times have I raised my blade and fought by your side without question or hesitation?" She asked. There was a slight twitch in War's brow, she saw in the dim lighting, and his eyes narrowed just a bit. "I remember, after the New Council came to power… When the White City decreed its gates would remain shut to the Hellguard because of their failure on Earth, _you_ were the first to oppose the verdict, War. _You_ defended my honour when I had so little of it left I could barely hope to defend it myself. You and Death… I… I could never repay that, War. I could not want for _anything_ from the Four after that. Not until… Not until now…" She trailed off, taking a deep breath. Death was watching, the Council was watching – _this_ was the window she had been hoping for since before their battle had started. "I… I am not so arrogant, as to believe I am flawless, War. I know I have made many mistakes. But… Have I ever given you a reason to distrust me, War?" She asked earnestly. "Have I ever failed you? Have I ever failed the Four, when they requested my assistance?"

War regarded her a minute longer, before taking a deep breath – even if it lasted only a second longer than normal, Uriel _noticed_ it, _knew_ it was a break from his normal stoicism, however fleeting it may have been. She had finally set his mind working – she had _finally_ gotten through to him. "You have not," War admitted with a nod.

"Then _please_ , War," she said. She tried, _so hard_ , to rise to her feet but her legs simply would not cooperate. "I beg of you… Even if you have must abhor me and distrust me at every possible chance after this, please, _please_ , trust me," she said urgently. Her wings now glowed bright enough to illuminate the entire cave – she was almost _certain_ Ruby and Yang would be seeing the rays of light from where they sat waiting. "I know the risk is great, and I know the trials will be harsh, War… But please… _Please_ , believe. If not in Ruby… Then in _me_ ," she said, pressing her remaining hand to her chest.

Silence fell the moment she had finished speaking, interrupted only by the short, almost inaudible puffs of breath Uriel took as she steadied herself again. War's scrutinising gaze lingered on her for a few moments longer, his brow knitting as he considered everything that had been said and done in this little battle-chamber. Already Uriel felt the short burst of energy supplied by the healing crystal wear off, and her shoulders drooped as she felt fatigue set in again. She held War's gaze nonetheless. Eventually the Horseman averted his eyes, opting to stare into the vast expanse of the system of caverns beyond them. He was looking in the seer's direction, Uriel noticed, and her throat dried out slightly. If… If he were to continue his mission, regardless of what she had said… then she could do little to stop him now.

War held his gaze for a strenuous few moments – every second that ticked by made the pit of ice in Uriel's stomach twist and churn that much more. Finally, after a few tense moments, War relented, closing his eyes as his shoulders slumped just a _hint_ – it was such a subtle, minuscule gesture that even Uriel almost missed it. Dutifully War's gauntleted hand came to rest on the hilt of the Chaoseater, which he had planted tip-first into the ground beside him. With an effortless pull that made the blade seem much, _much_ lighter than it was, the Horseman wrenched the blade free…

…and returned it to its sheathe on his back.

Uriel's breath failed her at that moment – her lungs emptied themselves as she looked in shock at the sight before her. The Red Rider had sheathed his blade. Her wings twitched and jerked subtly as her mind processed this fact; War could _easily_ stroll past her, erase the children's memories and be done with it. He could end with a single stroke of his sword… and yet, he did not do so. She opened her mouth to try and speak, to ask him the question she so desperately wanted him to answer, but her throat had gone dry all of a sudden.

The golden glow illuminating the small cavern was tainted, then, as a sickly green hue mingled with the bright amber light.

It happened so fast Uriel barely even _noticed_ a third party had appeared until it uttered a low, almost whimsical neigh. Her eyes widened as she beheld the spectral steed standing before her – wreathed in clouds of pale green smoke, the dreaded Pale Horse stood upright and proud. The mix of green and golden light highlighted the decayed state of the stallion's flesh – muscle and sinew tensed and went taut as the steed's hooves thudded on the ground as it trotted in place. Its glossy eyes shot baleful glares at the cramped walls of the cavern, and it seemed almost flustered, being stuck in such a confined space. Despite all this, its movements were the very picture of cautious – and once Uriel's eyes locked onto the dark violet lantern clenched between the Pale Horse's teeth, she realised why.

The lamp glowed, then, radiating a sinister shade of _dark_ light as rancid ooze poured from the mantle. It pooled in the dusty air before the Pale Horse, writhing and twisting and convulsing as it grew in size and density and _darkness_. Soon the cloud of fleshy blackness was the size of a human, and seemed to _drink_ the clashing lights of green and gold around it before it started taking a different shape. Uriel felt disgust welling in her stomach despite her efforts to prevent it when the filthy creature finally took form – a disembodied pair of legs, covered by a tattered robe, attached itself to a narrow waist and a deformed chest. Two long, eldritch arms converged before it, clutching a smoking scroll in the spiny fingers topping the hands, and four disdainful blue eyes glared at her as vestigial wings batted uselessly behind it.

"Exile Uriel," the nameless Watcher finally spoke, its raspy voice brimming with scorn and a _hint_ of frustration. "The Charred Council has heard your plea."

Those words, so simple and straightforward, managed to dispel her fatigue almost entirely. Her heart leapt to her throat as she regarded the Watcher before her with wide eyes – it fidgeted in place, nervously glancing at her and War, as though their mere proximity made it antsy. She opted not to answer at all, remaining silent instead – silent, and hopeful; so hopeful it almost ached. It was no secret the New Council was more lenient than their predecessors – she could only wish that lenience showed itself now.

Finally, the scroll clutched in the Watchers hands came unfurled, and it cast two eyes down to read the contents, wisely keeping its other two eyes on either Uriel herself, or War.

"Your testimony," the Watcher spoke, still fidgeting nervously as it hovered there, "in regards to the seer walking the Third Kingdom has been reviewed in full, both by Council and the Pale Rider. They have noted that the seer in question is but a human child," it said, its voice turning outright _venomous_ at those words, "and as such, they are aware of the… extenuating circumstances surrounding her life and continued wellbeing." It paused, nervously glancing between Uriel and War again, before continuing. "In light of these circumstances, and in a bid to ensure that the seer does not fall to darkness and threaten what little Balance exists in the Remnant of the Third Kingdom, the Council has reached a verdict," it growled.

Uriel swallowed thickly – her lips, her mouth, her throat, _everything_ had gone dry the moment the Watcher had informed her that her pleas had been heard, and every word the loathsome being spoke afterwards served to dry them further. "The bond between the seer, Ruby Rose," the Watcher spoke, voice hissing at the mention of the human name, "and her sister, the human Yang Xiao Long, has been judged, and deemed to match the strength described in your testimony. In light of this judgement, it has been decided that the two human children may leave this cavern unobstructed and unpunished – _after_ they have been made aware of the exile, Uriel's role in their coming lives."

Her… _Her_ role in their lives? Uriel's brow knitted in confusion as she pondered the dark being's words. What could they possibly mean?

"Due in no small part to the seer's… _unique_ nature," the Watcher spat, "the Council has decreed to allow her a small circle of reliable allies, to be entrusted with her secret _only_ after they have been deemed loyal by a liaison between themselves and the Charred Council." The creature trailed off, then, before locking all four of its eyes on her. " _You_ , exile, will act as this liaison."

"I…" Uriel spoke, her voice raspy. She struggled to give voice to her response. She swallowed twice, and cleared her throat, hoping the shock from the revelation hadn't robbed her of speech entirely. "…I have already sworn to fight for them," she said shakily. "I see no difference between that task, and the task the Council has given me. What duties will my mission entail?" She asked.

"You will be briefed on the intricacies of your responsibility," the Watcher stated, "once the seer and her sister are back in the safety of their abode. For now, your task is merely to ensure they know that they have been pardoned of any possible repercussions of this night, and that they are _not_ to inform _anyone_ else of the seer's nature until you have met with them again."

"…That is well within my ability," Uriel admitted, finally feeling fatigue trying to grasp at her being again. She was fighting _so hard_ to keep from _glowing_ ; she wanted nothing more than to embrace the joy threatening to bloom in her weary heart with as much strength as she could. But the Watcher was not finished yet – there was more of the verdict to be said. Still… She placed her hand on her chest, and bowed her head. "I… I am eternally grateful to the Council, for granting me this chance," she said sincerely.

"You will be _less_ grateful once I finish _this_ ," the Watcher groused, giving the scroll clutched in its hands a firm shake before diverting two of its eyes back down to the smoking parchment. "However," it grumbled, "despite the lenience the Council has decided to show regarding this matter, the threat to the fragile Balance that exists in the Remnant of the Third Kingdom is no less dire for it." Uriel tensed when she heard these words – she did _not_ like the direction the Watcher's reading was taking. "Because of this, the Council has set a… _ultimatum_ of sorts," it said sinisterly. Uriel felt her entire body tense at the Watcher's words. Ultimatums from the Charred Council were _rarely_ pleasant.

"Should the seer and her allies disturb the Balance or affect it negatively in any way," the Watcher spoke, and Uriel could _hear_ the glee in its voice, "they will _all_ be put to death. And _you_ , Uriel…" It said, fixing all four eyes on her again. " _You_ will be cast into oblivion – never to walk the White City's streets again."

Uriel's heart dropped from her throat _straight_ into the pit of her stomach at those words, shattering the ball of ice that had formed there and chilling her down to her very soul. The golden light clashing with the waves of green pouring off the Pale Horse's frame dimmed in tandem with Uriel's wings as cold realisation crashed into her with enough force to put even War's Tremor Gauntlet to shame. Cast into oblivion… A complete cessation of existence, where a being is destroyed down to the very fabric of their souls – reduced to empty _nothingness_. That would be her punishment, if her beliefs damned the Third Kingdom again. She shuddered, from the base of her neck down to her tailbone as the colour drained from her face.

"Is such a harsh punishment truly necessary?" She heard War inquire. The Horseman sounded distant – _too_ distant – although that could have been blamed on the sudden ringing in her ears. "Is it not enough to destroy the very people she placed her hope and faith in?"

"You presume to question the Council, Horseman?" The Watcher spat back, voice quaking with nervousness at being addressed by the one Rider with a _burning_ hatred for its kind. "Their ultimatum is as much a punishment to _her_ as it is an example to the rest of Creation," it said hurriedly, faltering slightly under the Red Rider's scrutinising gaze. "No matter the realm, if the Balance is at stake the price of failure _should_ be unbearable _._ "

For the first time, Uriel realised her resolve was faltering. It was a horrifying realisation – she had tempted the Council's wrath, and fought tooth and nail against one of Creation's deadliest enforcers, all for the sake of her newfound beliefs. But now… in the face of such a nightmarish punishment, she found herself doubtful. To be cast into oblivion was considered the cruellest punishment in all of Creation. Those hurled into the nothingness became part of it; no thought or sense or awareness, no sentience, _nothing_ remained once the void swallowed you. Oblivion… was the anathema to Existence; a cruel, ironic form of Balance.

She fought. She fought with inner strength she wasn't aware she had against the wave of crippling doubt and fear that threatened to consume her. She _knew_ just how high the stakes were now, and as much as she told herself it was _worth_ the risk, the merest thought of suffering such a cruel fate froze her in place as she wrestled with her own terror. She chastised herself, _screamed_ at herself, calling out the hypocrisy and cowardice present in her actions. She would have wagered the Balance of the Third Kingdom on two _children_ , but in the face of such a punishment she would waver? Was she truly so selfish?

 _A better world_ is _the gain,_ the words repeated in her mind. In the midst of a torrential downpour of doubt and hesitation and _outrage_ towards her own cowardice, two gleaming silver eyes stared at her from the recesses of her mind, a warm smile playing on the lips beneath. _I want to do the right thing_ , the voice chimed, almost melodic as it pierced the haze of fear that had settled over her senses.

 _That_ was what she had fought for, Uriel remembered. _That_ was what she was going to guide, and protect now.

That realisation alone pierced through all her doubts.

"Well, exile?" She heard the Watcher address her, and her eyes jerked up to meet its own. Its wiry frame was tense and the creature seemed nervous, but a quick glance towards War revealed the Watcher was slowly crumbling beneath the downright _infernal_ glare the Red Rider was directing at it. "What is your decision?" It asked, keeping its four eyes locked on her. "Will you accept the price of failure and carry this burden on your shoulders? Or will you let War go forth and purge the humans' minds?"

Uriel truly thought she would hesitate once the question was phrased – but as she felt her mouth open of its own accord, and her brow knit into a determined frown, she realised it was almost _impossible_ to do so anymore. Her beliefs, and her hopes, had found an anchor that could not be moved, for the first time in centuries. "I accept this burden," she spoke loudly, confidently, and she noticed the edges of the scroll in the Watcher's hands begin to blow. "On my honour as an angel, I pledge my allegiance to the humans Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. My wings will dispel the darkness that may mar their path in life, and my blades will strike down any who may attempt to draw them to it," she said resolutely. "This, _I swear_."

The scroll in the Watcher's hands _exploded_ in a ringing cloud of light. Streaks of gold flew from the text burned into the parchment, snaking around her as they formed bindings of incandescent steel around her wrist and wings. With loud clashes of steel, the shackles slammed shut – but Uriel did nothing to resist. This was due process when a pledge of service to the Council was made. Now she bore shackles quite similar to those worn by the Four – and like them, she decided, she would wear them with _pride_.

"A pity," she heard the Watcher grouse as the light finally died out. With a huff, it rolled the contract back up and attached it to the worn belt holding its robe in place. It wavered for a moment, wiry fingers arcing in the air as it seemed to consider something, before it removed another scroll, smaller this time, from its belt, and cautiously handed it to War. "Your instructions from the Council," it said hurriedly as War's glare darkened. "Effective the moment the seer and her sister are removed from this cavern," it said, before offering a stiff, yet courteous bow. "My task is done. By your leave, Horseman, exile," it spoke, before its form burst into a cloud of fleshy darkness that slowly crept back into the lantern still held aloft in the Pale Horse's jaw. It snorted once, shaking its head in distaste. Its misted eyes regarded War with a curious glint, one the Red Rider met and held for a moment. Finally, the warrior offered a curt nod. Despair reared back on its hind legs and loosed a deafening, hollering neigh, before erupting in a bright, almost blinding flash of green flame.

When the spots finally cleared from Uriel's vision, the only hint that the Pale Horse had even been there was the four glowing hoof marks embedded in the stone.

Before she could even try to stop herself, Uriel laughed breathlessly. The threat had passed – it had cost her two swords, a set of armour, an arm and several bones, but she had gotten through to her judge, and the Charred Council both. _Ecstatic_ would be the word to use to describe her now. Despite the pain in her ribs, the stinging sensation in the stump of her left arm, the aches dominating her wings and the fact that her limbs felt like water, Uriel laughed. It would have been a melodic sound, had she had the breath to put any volume behind it.

War's footfalls echoed softly around them as he strode over to her, the Watcher's scroll still clutched in his normal hand. He stopped before her, regarding her curiously for a moment, before extending his prosthetic arm, palm open. The gesture was immediately recognised – Uriel reached out and grabbed hold of one of the large digits with her normal hand, and in an arduous process filled with grunts and groans, managed to pull herself to her feet. On shaky legs she stood, using her aching wings to help maintain some form of balance, as she regarded the Horseman before her with a cautious, yet somehow thankful stare. "What happens now?" She asked softly.

"You have two children to placate," War said noncommittally. He held the Tremor Gauntlet aloft still, until he was absolutely certain Uriel could stand without aid. The gesture brought the barest hint of a smile to her face. "Go to them," he said. "I will find out what the Council wishes from me," he held up the scroll in his normal hand, "and find you then. Have your Ortho carry the children to the outskirts of the nearby village. Ruin will ensure no Soulless lurk there," he said, turning as he strode away from her.

Uriel nodded in response, words failing her as relief flooded her being. She turned, stumbling slightly as she moved, and strolled over to the cave mouth. She wondered if she could muster enough strength to fly back to the two children and her warbeast, and spread her wings out as far as they could go to test them. Apart from the numerous aches that shot up their lengths, they seemed to be in perfect working order – perfect enough for a short flight at least.

Still, something held her back, something that gnawed at her as she prepared to take flight. Cautiously, she turned back around, her yellow eyes spotting the red hood standing a few feet away. The scroll had been unwound, and War was reading it with a blank expression. "War?" Uriel called him, softly. With a grunt, he paused his task and turned to face her, a hint of curiosity in those blank eyes. Words of gratitude formed in Uriel's mind as she regarded the warrior she had fought beside so many times.

"Go," he spoke before she could, his tone lacking its usual fierce stoicism. "We will speak afterwards," he said, as his eyes glowed amber. Wisps of the golden light surrounded his form as he started disappearing into the Realm of Shadows – the instruction was clear. Anything she _wanted_ to say now could wait. The human children were to come first.

Uriel nodded in understanding as War's colossal form finally disappeared. She turned back to the vast expanse beyond their ruined battleground and bent her knees, preparing to take flight.

And as she took off, a part of her – a small part that she fought _desperately_ to subdue – couldn't help but feel excited and overjoyed at the prospect of meeting those two children again.

* * *

A loud, overjoyed cheer escaped Ruby's lips before she could even try and stop herself. When she saw that ball of golden light fly back into the large expanse they were waiting in, every ounce of worry and panic she felt _disappeared_. Digging her way out of the cocoon her cloak formed around her again, Ruby jogged forward to the centre of the small platform she fought that bug-hulk in, happily calling out to Uriel and waving her arms to catch the angel's attention.

Her smile fell slightly, and some of her good cheer evaporated when Uriel came close enough for her to notice the angel's swords were missing.

 _More_ of it disappeared when Ruby noticed the state of the woman's armour – or _lack of it_.

And by the time the angel landed before them with a loud grunt, Ruby noticed her happiness and excitement had fallen apart, cracked into pieces – just like Uriel's armour. Yellow eyes peered into her silver ones, and Ruby _flinched_ at the sheer exhaustion she saw in those orbs. With a loud groan, Uriel dropped to her knees, a loud _thud_ reverberating through the ground beneath her feet and only through biting her lip did Ruby manage to stem the concerned whimper that threatened to escape her.

"Holy _crap_ ," Yang summarised aptly beside her.

"Wha… What did… Wha- _guuuuuuuh_ ," Ruby trailed off weakly as her eyes fell on the charred, blackened stump that used to be Uriel's left arm. The bronze skin still visible between the blackened end of the stump and the singed shoulder-line of Uriel's breastplate was adorned with blisters of varying sizes, some popped and peeling, some raw and red, and it was a sight that made Ruby's stomach churn despite her best efforts to stop it. A stream of caked blood decorated the side of the angel's face, and her armour was sporting more cracks than their bathroom mirror. Ruby's stomach flipped when she saw the gaping hole in the left side of that armour – at first glance she almost swore Uriel's breastplate was just there to cover one giant upper-body-sized _welt_. Her wings, those _beautiful_ wings, were now ruffled and blood-stained and Ruby swore she could _see_ the bruises beneath. She opened her mouth to _try_ and say something, to try and ask if Uriel was okay, if she needed anything, to _scold her_ for being so reckless, but her jaw just moved up and down without making a sound – her tongue felt as though it were knotted.

"Holy crap…" Yang repeated.

Uriel's yellow eyes met hers again, and the angel offered her a small, tentative smile. "I… I _did_ say I would return…" She said weakly.

 _That_ undid the knot in Ruby's tongue _pretty fast_.

"Wh-wh- _wha…_ What does…?" The words left her mouth faster than even she could make out as she darted around Uriel's kneeling form, trailing rose petals in her wake as she spouted gibberish, flailing her arms in worry. "What happened?!" She finally asked, stopping in front of the angel, her hands shaking as her eyes darted from injury to injury. "You… You look like you just fought in a war!"

"You… are not wrong," Uriel responded weakly, the beginnings of a wry smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Ruby puffed her cheeks up, feeling as though some kind of joke had just gone _right_ over her head. She tried glaring at Uriel, really she did, but sheer amount of worry she was feeling right now made it hard to hold it. Uriel met her gaze, and all the wryness disappeared from her smile, blooming into something genuine. "Fret not, Ruby," she said softly. "These injuries… are superficial at best."

"Super… Superficial?!" Ruby wailed, unable to stop herself. She flailed her arms about as she shook her head. "Uriel you're _missing an arm!_ " She pointed out. "How, how is that even superficial? You look like a pack of Beowolves just used you as a chew toy!" She said despairingly. Her throat was beginning to constrict and it _hurt_ , she noticed – almost as much as the sudden ache in her chest.

"Ruby…" Uriel spoke, her smile vanishing as a look of concern settled on her face. _Not fair_ , Ruby thought sadly, averting her eyes. Uriel was the one who was hurt, not her – _she_ was the one supposed to be concerned! Uriel got hurt, _badly_ hurt, and it happened while the angel was fighting… for her and Yang. That realisation _hurt_. "It is just an arm, Ruby," Uriel said slowly. "Another can be made-"

"That's not the _point!_ " She yelled before she could stop herself, and she winced at how her voice cracked. Getting hurt was part of fighting, she knew – if she was going to be a Huntress she _had_ to know. But seeing _this_ before her, seeing just how badly Uriel had been hurt… It stung. She blinked, suddenly realising her eyes were getting uncomfortably wet, and buried her face in her hands. "That's not the point…" She repeated sadly. She felt one of Yang's arms wrap around her shoulders and instinctively she leaned into her sister. Part of her thought she was being silly, getting so worked up. But seeing all those injuries… Seeing Uriel, the proud, glowing angel that saved her earlier, reduced to a kneeling, groaning wreck… It made her little heart clench painfully.

She felt a weight come to rest on her head then, and she looked up with tearstained eyes. Uriel had laid her hand – her _only_ hand – on Ruby's head, and was smiling at her despite the worry in her eyes. "Do you remember what you told me, Ruby?" She asked softly. "I recall you saying you believe in helping people, and in doing the right thing," she said. Ruby nodded meekly in confirmation, and the corners of Uriel's lips tugged upwards just a _bit_ more. "Would you let an injury stop you from trying to fight for what you believe in, Ruby?" She asked.

Ruby gasped as the question registered in her mind. Countless times, she recalled, Uncle Qrow would tell her stories about where he and Dad had gotten their scars – and none of those stories ever involved them 'giving up'. "N-No," she squeaked her answer, and only then she noticed she was wringing her hands together again. "I… I'd keep fighting," she said softly, realising how lame she must have sounded then, with her shaky voice and her quivering shoulders. Despite it all, though, Uriel's smile widened even more.

"This… is no different, Ruby," she said warmly, withdrawing her hand and letting it drop to her side again. "I will not lie – these injuries ail me greatly," she said steadily. "But what I achieved, Ruby… I fought for what _I_ believed in, and those beliefs kept me going long after my body threatened to fail me. Those beliefs…" She trailed off, before chuckling. It was a weird sound, Ruby realised – weird, but oddly nice… It made her smile. "Those beliefs led me to victory, Ruby," Uriel said proudly. "And no amount of injuries can quell what I now feel, knowing that I _won_."

"Wait… you _won_?" Yang asked after a moment of silence. Ruby was thankful for it – her own throat had dried up and constricted when Uriel uttered that word. _Victory_. Uriel had _won_ , she said. She fought against one of those big, scary Horsemen, and _won_. That meant… That meant that… Ruby covered her mouth with both hands, not trusting herself to say _anything_ at that moment. "Does that mean…?" Yang asked, trailing off near the end – but _nobody_ missed the hopeful note in her voice.

"Yes, sun child," Uriel said joyously. "You… The Charred Council has seen fit to allow you to leave here," she said, locking eyes with Ruby again. " _That_ is why I kept fighting despite my injuries, Ruby. To achieve such a grand victory… I would do it all over again without a _moment's_ hesitation."

Absently Ruby noticed the strong hands pulling at her shoulders, turning her on her heel. "Didya hear that, Rubes?" Yang said happily, her eyes shining almost as brightly as her hair did in the glow Uriel's wings gave off. Ruby still kept her hands over her mouth, still not trusting herself to say anything, but she nodded regardless – she nodded quickly, _wildly_ , and excitedly. "We can leave!" Yang cried happily, pulling Ruby into the tightest, most _suffocating_ hug she had ever experienced – but the absolutely _ecstatic_ laugh that was pouring out from behind Ruby's hands showed she couldn't care less. She wrapped her own arms around Yang's midsection, laughing happily as Yang picked her up and spun her around, not once breaking the embrace.

The scraping of steel drew their attention from each other, and Yang set Ruby down on her feet again and finally ended their hug. Shaking the sudden dizziness away, Ruby noticed Uriel had risen to her feet. Tiredness weighed the angel's shoulders and wings down, she saw, but the smile on her face was just so _happy_ , Ruby couldn't help but smile along with her. Idly she stepped forward, her boots scuffing softly against the cave ground. "I… I wanna say thanks," she said softly, pressing her fingertips together. "But… I dunno how," she admitted meekly. "This is just…" Her eyes landed on that charred stump that used to be Uriel's arm and she found herself deflating. "I just… I…" She floundered with her words and felt her cheeks heating up – _why was this so hard?!_

Uriel quickly noticed where Ruby was looking. With a determined sigh, she folded her bruised wings in once more. "I… I have been in this world for many, many years, Ruby," she spoke, and Ruby quickly gave the angel her undivided attention. Yang sauntered up beside her and laid an arm across her shoulders, eagerly listening as well. "I witnessed many heinous things while I walked this realm. I saw how the darkness settled into the hearts of your people – hatred, war, segregation… I was there for every unspeakable event, every pointless war… and I was powerless to stop them," she said. There was a look of remorse on her features. "Those acts… they wore me down. They struck blows against my resolve, whittled down my hope for this realm, and before I knew it I had been stripped of my belief that this was a place worth _fighting_ for. For years I wandered, raising my blade in Man's defence not because I believed in them… but because there was little else for me to do."

Yang's hold on Ruby tightened just a bit, and Ruby's own shoulders drooped slightly. She knew it was bad out there – why else would the world need Huntsmen and Huntresses? – but hearing about it in such a way, hearing how it managed to break down an angel… it made a weight form in her chest that made her limbs feel heavy. "I thought there was nothing of value left in this world…" Uriel said… before an absolutely _dazzling_ smile appeared on her weary face. "Then… Then I met you two."

The admission made Ruby _jump_ slightly as pleasant warmth flooded her tiny frame; it dispelled the weight that had settled in her chest, and every other ache Uriel's injuries had caused her, and made her face heat up so much Ruby swore her cheeks now resembled her cloak. _Does… Does she really mean that?_

"You two," Uriel continued, gazing down at her and Yang, "returned something to me that I had considered lost forever. When I looked at you when you embraced each other, when I _heard_ the words you spoke… I felt something stir within me – something I had not felt for _decades_ on end," she said warmly. "You… You two gave me hope again."

Those words rendered Ruby speechless. Her arms dropped to her sides, dangling uselessly as she fought against the overwhelming urge to giggle happily. Hearing Uriel say those words… they made her _so happy_ , she felt as though she could burst. She heard steel scraping again, and before she knew it Uriel was kneeling before her and Yang again. "I do not want you to fret about my injuries a _moment_ longer, Ruby Rose," the angel spoke firmly, that smile never leaving her face. "That which you have given me, that which I have _gained_ this night… it is _infinitely_ more precious that what I have lost."

At that point, Ruby felt her self-control leave her. With a quick movement she pitched forward and _hopped_ , wrapping her arms around Uriel's neck, taking care not to hug her too tightly. It must've been a hilarious sight, seeing her hanging from a kneeling angel's shoulders but she simply _could not_ care less. Uriel tensed at the contact at first – but after a quick intake of breath Ruby felt the angel relax, and soon a gauntleted hand came to rest on Ruby's back. "Th-thank you," she stuttered through a dry throat and quivering lips. "Thank you Uriel… Thank you _so much_ …"

Ruby had _no_ idea how long the hug lasted – it had gone on long enough for Yang to chuckle happily at her antics, that was for sure. But other than that, she was uncertain. Eventually her arms started going numb, and she was forced to disengage, dropping back to her feet with a soft _thump_ and shuffling back beside Yang, pink tinting her cheeks in shyness. She had just _hugged_ an _angel_. _That's something I never thought I'd get to say_ , she thought with a grin.

Again, Yang seized her in a one-armed hug, pressing Ruby flush against her as she grinned. It was a gesture that served to make Ruby' heart flutter – Yang was right there next to her the _whole_ time. She had been there when Uriel tried to erase their memories, and she had been there when the angel decided against it. She had been there when Uriel proclaimed she would fight for them and she had been there when Uriel returned victorious – and not _once_ did she move away from Ruby. Not _once_ had Yang left her alone. And as Ruby stood there, leaning into her older sister and _knowing_ Yang never _would_ leave her now, she couldn't help but smile, wide and brightly enough to seemingly light up the whole cavern.

"So what happens now?" Yang asked. "Do we just… y'know, _go_?" She asked cautiously. "Not that there's anything wrong that, I mean, it'd just be… weird, just walking out the front door after everything just happened, so to speak." Ruby giggled as she heard Yang talk – it wasn't every day she got to hear her older sister fumble with words. It was a very humorous sight in her opinion.

"Now…" Uriel trailed off, breaking eye contact with them and looking up, at one of the large gashes in the cavern ceiling. "Now you go home," she said warmly. "And carry on with your lives."

"…what, just like that?" Yang asked, accidentally sounding _incredibly_ deadpan. Going by the uncomfortable look that flashed across her face, Ruby reckoned her sister realised as well.

"Just like that," Uriel answered, looking back at them. She beckoned towards something behind them, and Ruby and Yang both yelped as the gryphon that had been napping at the cave mouth suddenly crowed loudly. Its feathers shuffled against each other as the great warbeast lumbered forwards, looking unperturbed at its owner's state. If anything, Ruby thought the bird looked almost _bored_. "My Ortho will be taking you back to your village," Uriel said serenely. _Oh,_ Ruby thought. _Ortho. So_ that's _what he's called._ The gryphon stopped beside them, eyeing them warily, before shaking itself and kneeling down. It was now _just_ high enough for them to climb up.

"We'll be flying?" Yang asked excitedly. " _Kickass._ Buh- wait!" She trailed off, eyes going wide as she turned to face Uriel again. "What about Ruby's dreams? And the fact that she's a seer?" She asked. Ruby's lips formed an 'o' as the same question suddenly dawned in her mind, and she, too, looked at Uriel with a quizzical expression. If she were being honest with herself, she was happy now. She knew the things Uriel told them were kept secret for a good reason, and she knew she couldn't go yelling it all out at the top of her lungs. But… Now Yang knew. That… that was good enough for her. Even if Yang were the _only_ person who knew… that'd be good enough for Ruby.

"For now," Uriel spoke, a look of contemplation in her eyes, "keep it between yourselves. The Council has decreed to allow you a small circle of trusted allies, Ruby," she said with a smile, "but not yet. Continue keeping your secret until I have found you again, and we will start working towards progress then."

"W-Wait…" Ruby said shakily, eyes going wide as she realised something. "Until you find us again?"

"Of course," Uriel confirmed with a nod. "Did you honestly think this would be the last you see of me? The Charred Council has entrusted you two to me. I act as a liaison between you, and them – if there is something the Seven Stones want you to be aware of, I will be the one to relay it to you," she said with a smile.

"Haha! Hear that, Rubes?" Yang asked, grabbing Ruby in yet another one-armed hug. Ruby could only nod numbly, but eventually a bright, humble smile appeared on her lips. "We've got ourselves a guardian angel! That's _so_ badass." Yang said cheerfully. Her smile persisted only a moment, though, before it fell slightly. She let go of Ruby, much to the young girl's confusion, and stepped forward towards Uriel, her face contorted into an expression of hesitation. "Listen… I know you said I shouldn't, but…" She trailed off, before shrugging in an attempt to appear noncommittal. "I… Sorry. Y'know, for… yelling at you, and shooting at you and all that. Uh… That must've been a crappy first impression." Despite its somewhat uncomfortable delivery Ruby couldn't help but smile at her sister's apology – and it was a smile Uriel saw fit to mirror.

"Think nothing of it, Yang," Uriel said. "I would not have had it any other way – it was that unconditional drive to protect that helped awaken the hope within me," she said sincerely. "Do not ever change yourself."

"Heh, you don't need to worry about that," Yang said with a confident wink and a thumbs-up, her awkwardness forgotten in the face of the angel's forgiveness. "C'mon Rubes!" She called as she spun on her heel and made a beeline for the kneeling Ortho. "Last one on's a rotten Beowo-prft!" She got a mouthful of feathers for her troubles as the Ortho extended one of its wings right into her face in spite, shaking itself as it huffed. The display drew a snort and a giggle from Ruby, before she quickly capitalised on the opening she was granted, scurrying onto the gryphon's armoured back and raising her fists above her with a victorious ' _Hah!'_ and a winning smile. "Oh _come on_ ," Yang groused as the warbeast finally retracted its wing. "How is that even fair?!" The Ortho turned its head away flippantly in response, hardly acknowledging Yang's complaint. The action served only to make Ruby giggle even more.

Off to the side, she could see Uriel cover her mouth daintily with her remaining hand, a mirthful expression on her face.

"Oh you think you're off the hook, sis?" Yang said with a grin, before hopping onto the large saddle adorning the Ortho's back with a curt ' _Hup!'_ "Now _I'm_ the one who's gotta hang on for dear life!" She exaggerated, wrapping her arms around Ruby's shoulders and pulling her into a crushing hug with a loud exclamation of " _Squish!"_ Despite the strength in her arms, though, Ruby found her giggle morphing into peals of honest, joyous laughter as she feebly pawed at her sister's arms. The gryphon shifted beneath them, then, and their laughter turned into yelps of shock as they grabbed onto the edge of the saddle, stomachs dropping as the warbeast rose to its full height.

The sensations made the two of them giggle again, and once more Ruby realised just how _happy_ she was at that moment. It was as though all the unhappiness she had felt before coming to this cave had… _melted_ away. She may not have found definite _answers_ here, she thought, but she _did_ find new happiness – and that, in her opinion, was much better.

As the warbeast spread its wings out and tensed its legs in preparation to take flight, Ruby gazed back at the angel who had risked life and limb – and _lost_ one of the latter – for their sake. She remained standing there, smiling serenely at the sight before her, as though the charred stump of her left arm barely bothered her. "Uriel," Ruby called out, her voice no longer shaky or squeaky. When the angel's yellow eyes met her own silver ones, Ruby smiled at her. "Thank you," she said happily, "for believing in us."

For but a moment a look of shock appeared on Uriel face – before that rare, dazzling smile of hers returned as her eyes glowed with warmth. "No, little one," Uriel shook her head. "Thank _you…_ for giving me something to believe in again."

And with those words, Ruby's stomach lurched again as the Ortho kicked off, soaring into the air. Her cloak fluttered as the warbeast ascended higher and higher, flying towards one of the giant crevices carved into the cavern's roof. Finally, with a rush of wind the great gryphon shot through the opening, and Ruby beheld the _breath-taking_ sunrise in the distance; the horizon itself was painted orange and while Remnant's shattered moon still hung high in the sky, the darkness of the night was slowly but surely bleeding away.

Ruby couldn't help but think this dawn could be interpreted in more ways than one.

* * *

She smiled as she watched her Ortho disappear through the crevice. This cavern was not so far from the village those girls called home, and her warbeast was a speedy one – perhaps a minute, maybe two before it was by her side again. If War spoke the truth, any Soulless that may have been in the area had been trampled underfoot by Ruin. The Red Horse was remarkably powerful, even by the standards of the spectral steeds.

She flinched, then, as fatigue slammed into her from every direction. She cradled her forehead with her remaining hand, swaying in place slightly as she used her wings to even out her balance. She desperately needed rest, she realised – it was likely she would be out cold the moment she kept her eyes closed longer than would be acceptable to be called a blink. To that end, she tried to make her way over to the cavern wall. If she could at least prop herself against something, that would be enough until her Ortho returned.

Sadly, her own battered body chose that moment to disagree with her.

The first step caused her to sway and shake dangerously, her bones feeling as though they had turned to mist as she stood there trying to walk on quivering legs. The second step fared no better, and even her wings were starting to fail her now. The third step proved to be her downfall, as one of her legs gave in completely. She pitched backwards, fanning her wings out in the hope of at least slowing her descent enough to stop her from blacking out when she hit the ground.

Her back hit something cool and not at all rock-like with a muted _thud_ , and Uriel found herself caught at an angle.

Only then did she notice the red hood and the strands of white hair in her peripheral vision.

Despite her best efforts _not_ to, she yelped slightly when she was hoisted clean off the ground and held aloft in a pair of powerful arms. She struggled for a bit, her own stubbornness insisting that she was _fine_ for a brief moment, before she relented, turning a tired glare to the person who caught her. "I _can_ stand," she said primly, despite the fact that what little remained of her energy already started seeping from her.

War merely raised a brow, a _fraction_ of an inch, as he regarded her. "You can," he said simply as he adjusted her in his arms, and Uriel groaned when she realised it was actually _more_ comfortable now. "But that does not mean you _should_."

Uriel relented with a huff, opting instead to lay her head against his shoulder as she pulled her wings flush against herself. "I never took you for someone with such knightly tendencies…" She muttered, already chastising herself as she felt her eyes threaten to flutter closed. Part of her wanted to will herself awake, stubbornly refusing to lose consciousness _again_ after losing to him. It had happened too many times already, it was almost becoming habitual. Another part of her, however, couldn't really care.

"And I never took you for such a wide-eyed idealist," War responded noncommittally. "We have both learned something new this night, it seems," he mused, before directing his gaze towards the cracks and wounds in the cavern roof above them. With a burst of static, space and matter behind them twisted and churned as a blood-red portal hissed to life, humming steadily as magics beyond this world sustained it. Uriel found herself gazing at this portal questioningly, but did not voice her curiosity – she doubted she could stay awake for the entire reasoning in any case.

With a loud screech, a shadow bloomed on the moonlit cavern floor, and moments later her trusty warbeast landed before them with a loud _thud_. It shook itself again, folding its wings in, and regarded the sight before it with a look Uriel could have _sworn_ resembled amusement, before snorting whimsically and strolling past them, making towards the portal. War turned and followed suit, his heavy footfalls echoing in the now vast expanse.

"War," Uriel addressed him softly, her voice almost inaudible due to her sudden weakness. The Horseman glanced down at her without breaking stride, frown still in place, yet a curious glint shone in his eye. "…Thank you," she said after a moment.

War responded with only a nod, before focusing on the portal before him again.

Finally, Uriel felt her consciousness begin to slip. Normally she would chastise herself for entertaining such an abominable weakness – the Third Kingdom was, after all, a very deadly place nowadays, and even a moment of carelessness or unconsciousness could lead to her getting swarmed by the Soulless.

Now, though, as she rested in the arms of someone she trusted so implicitly, despite the many times they had been at odds…

…Uriel allowed her eyes to flutter closed, and surrendered herself to sleep's welcoming embrace.

* * *

Ruby sat up in the snow she had been dropped in, giggling despite the daze her admittedly short fall had left her in. The gryphon – no, the _Ortho_ had opted not to land at all, instead simply doing a barrel roll and letting them drop down to the snow. Ruby had been perfectly fine herself – it was a simple twenty foot drop into thick snow, something even a kid could pull off. Her cape, however, had slipped off during the drop – and the fact that Yang started cursing loud enough to melt snow afterwards made Ruby think maybe, just _maybe_ her older sister had gotten caught up in the red garb.

Yang burst from beneath a mound of snow a few moments later, sputtering and spitting as she tried to brush the flecks off her clothes as she rose to her feet. Ruby took that chance to seize her cloak, pulling it free from the snow and quickly donning it again. "I swear," she heard Yang grouse, "I am gonna _punch_ that stupid bird right in the _face_ when I see it again!"

Ruby giggled tiredly as she walked up and stood beside her sister. The sunrise really was pretty – even now, the orange glow peeked up above the buildings of the small village in the distance. _Home_ , Ruby realised, and she smiled dumbly at the thought. She groaned, then, raising her arms above her head and lacing her fingers together as she stretched. She heard a faint pop coming from… _somewhere_ in her back, but she really wasn't that concerned. She yawned as recollections of their hectic night replayed themselves in her mind. Part of her really, really wanted to think long and hard about all the things Uriel had said, about all the different worlds and the Council and the Balance and those scary Horsemen that somehow could pummel angels into losing limbs.

But that, admittedly, was a very small part of her – the rest of her being yearned for sleep, and it won out by a landslide.

"Tired?" Yang asked, bumping their shoulders together. It seemed her anger with Uriel's Ortho had simmered down somewhat.

"Mmm," Ruby responded lethargically. Even standing at this point was a bit hard. "Can't wait to get back in bed," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "Gonna sleep for a week." Her view was obstructed, then, by a mane of golden hair and before she even knew it, Yang had hoisted her onto her back. She smiled to herself – this reminded her of when they were younger, and Yang would always piggyback her around the garden making train noises. Of _course_ she'd do this, Ruby thought happily. Yang was always there for her. Her sister looked back at her, lilac meeting silver, and she smiled brightly at Ruby, a reassuring smile that said everything was going to be okay now.

"Let's go home, sis," Yang said happily.

Ruby could only mumble in agreement as her eyelids grew heavy. She tightened her hold around Yang's shoulders, nestled her head in the mane of yellow hair before her, and smiled contentedly.

Without a doubt, things were only going to get harder from here, Ruby thought drowsily. But now, she had Yang by her side – and _that_ , she thought, would make it much easier.

* * *

 **Post-chapter A/N:** **Well wasn't _that_ an absolutely titanic amount of reading?**

 **Long story short, between a crippling cocktail of sicknesses, and other non-writing related drivel I am ashamed to say the amount of time I could dedicate to writing took a massive blow. In this case I think it wasn't so much the word count as it was the large time-skips in between writing sessions. If I were to say I spent five days cumulatively on this chapter it would possibly be an exaggeration.**

 **And so, Ruby's first exposure to the universe of Darksiders occurs - she has fought (and beaten) her first official mini-boss, met a guardian angel, so to speak, and learned of just how _small_ Remnant is in the "big picture". **

**I'm aware the fight between Uriel and War could be seen as a massive curbstomp - normally I try to avoid those, but in this case I think it's quite justified. As I explained to the many people I bounce my ideas off, Uriel's boss battles in the first Darksiders were absolutely pathetic. Now, after centuries exiled from Heaven and fighting never-ending hordes of Grimm and demonic interlopers both, the poor woman's not as spry or powerful as she used to be. Whereas War... is War, frankly.**

 **Not much in terms of visions this chapter, I'm aware. Those are coming _next_ chapter, where I hopefully won't turn two episodes of six minutes each into a Trollopean-length chapter. **

**Shameless plugs time: I discovered quite an interesting story called Keeper, written by the author Mayclore on this very site. Given the large amount of OC-centric stories that are... less than pleasant to read, it was quite delightful finding one that was actually really, really good, with great character development and tons of intrigue. Go check it out if the summary catches your fancy - that story doesn't have a fraction of the reviews it deserves, in my honest opinion.**

 **And thus, the "Prologue Arc" comes to a close - and about damn time, after almost 60K words, I hear many people say. From here on out, the future starts taking intriguing turns - bonds are formed, secrets are shared, trials are undertaken and games are played in the shadows. Now the fun can begin. To those wondering if there will ever be a clash between Human and Horseman in this story: Yes, there will - and while I can't promise to make the written version as epic as it is in my head, I _can_ promise I'll do my best.**

 **A huge word of thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, favourited and generally supported me during the writing process of this "Behemoth chapter" as it's been called, and an even greater word of thanks to all those who have read up to this point - I can only hope the content made it worth the time it took to read everything.**

 **Until next chapter, cheerio!  
-Chaos**


	3. Chapter 3

**Pre-Chapter A/N:** **Well... I'm not dead? At least?**

 **In all seriousness, I'm terribly sorry it took me so long to update again. That said, the rest of the excuses - alongside a _very important_ author's note - can be found at the end of the chapter, since I would so hate to keep you all waiting any longer than I have. So without further ado...!**

* * *

 **Strength of an Honest Soul  
Chapter 3  
Beacon**

Night had fallen in the Third Kingdom, blanketing the scarred realm in thick, murky shadows as an infinitesimally short day came to a close. A fractured moon shone writhing rays of pale light down upon the dying world, clashing against the canopies of vast forests and painting the ever-dangerous waters of the tumultuous oceans black as sin. The darkness permeating this fractured world seemed ever eager to swallow up the light; it wafted up from amongst the trees and skulked hidden upon the mists of the sea, hiding the baleful, vengeful beasts that lurked and stalked amongst the shadows.

In the blackest of these areas, where mankind rarely, if ever prospered, the legions of soulless beasts known as Grimm festered and grew. In their innumerable masses they swarmed amidst the trees and mountains, pooling through the streets of former bastions of humanity that had long since been stripped bare of life like a floodtide of black and white. They tunnelled beneath the surface and hovered beneath the waves, and some had even taken to the skies, using dark wings to cast shadows upon the world beneath.

At the very edge of these damned lands, where the borders of Man and Soulless met, a lone, lupine abomination crawled forth from the undergrowth, onto a beaten path of dirt and trampled foliage. The moon's rays danced across the bony plate that spanned most of its head, making it glimmer as it aimlessly sniffed at the air, searching for the pack it had broken away from.

A sudden thunderous ruckus in the distance caught the beast's attention – a low cacophony of heavy footfalls, growing louder and louder by the second. The lupine beast snarled in the direction of the noise, rising to its full height as it bared its claws. The intruder – the _prey_ – was in sight now, drawing ever closer in a torrent of white light. The wolf-thing snarled again and leaned forward, preparing to lunge. It bared its fangs, bent its legs, prepared to leap –

…and was promptly _trampled_ underfoot as a colossal armoured war-horse stampeded right over it, its wrought iron hooves sundering bone and flesh alike and leaving nothing but a battered, smoking carcass in its wake.

Unimpeded, the war-horse stormed forth in its tireless journey, ironclad hooves parting the very soil beneath it as a dazzling mane of white flame cast glints across the silvery armour that adorned its muscular frame. Plant and fallen tree alike were laid to ruin as it galloped through the undergrowth, every footfall igniting the shrubbery beneath its horseshoes with incandescent fire. Finally, the enormous steed reached its destination – a cliff overlooking a dark forest, painted stark grey by the moonlight bleeding into the earthy stone – and came to a halt.

With a muted huff, the beast's rider dismounted. Heavyset greaves slammed down under both strength and weight, and the moonlight lit up a lightly armoured, lean frame clad in darkened leather and gleaming steel. A deep violet scarf was draped across broad shoulders, billowing in the wind as the figure stepped forward towards the edge of the cliff. The figure raised the pistol clutched in his right hand upward, letting the colossal revolver's cylinder flick outwards before inspecting the wrathforged ammo loaded there, before snapping it shut again and gazing out into the distance.

Beneath an intricate, steel faceplate, yellow eyes narrowed dangerously.

The small, ghostly lamp hanging from the figure's belt glowed suddenly, retching an eerie purple hue onto the stark stone around them, and another figure emerged – vaguely feminine in form, but hideously thin and lanky, its leathery skin stained the colour of shadow as two vestigial wings uselessly batted the air behind it, causing its shadowy locks of hair to billow and writhe with every beat. Six murky eyes flitted nervously between the Gunman and the point he was looking towards, and wiry fingers wrung themselves anxiously.

"…Strife?" The Lady Watcher spoke finally, her raspy voice the very picture of caution. "…What do you see?"

The White Rider remained silent – his eyes barely giving a hint he even heard the Watcher speak. For a few tense moments, a painful silence spanned across the open Cliffside, before the white war-horse that Strife had arrived on trotted forwards with a concerned bellow of breath. It hooved at the ground in agitation and shook its mighty head, as if sensing that _something_ was terribly wrong with this place.

Strife shook himself from his silence the moment his steed started making a fuss, turning an exasperated glare at the beast. With a surprisingly gentle touch, though, he laid a hand on the horse's crest, the fires of its mane barely even singeing the Rider's hand. "Calm, Grief," he spoke measuredly, a clipped tone to his deep voice, but the effect itself was immediate. The White Horse, Grief, calmed at her Rider's command, casting an inquisitive glance at the gunslinger. Blazing eyes locked with the Rider's own yellow orbs, and in a moment a message passed quickly between beast and being. Finally, Grief blinked, heavy eyelids fluttering, before she shook herself and dispersed in a cloud of smoky white flame.

In the absence of his great war-horse, Strife strode to the edge of the cliff, eyes narrowing as they scanned the vast jungle canopy before him. Even in the pale moonlight, it resembled a sea of black, and the writhing clusters of leaves emulated calm waves as the late night breeze travelled through them. But even the darkness of the canopy could not hide his target from him. Strife's eyesight was near legendary – and they quickly locked on to his target: a rising plume of smoke, wafting up from between the branches, dispersing into the dark night sky.

"Well?" The Lady Watcher spoke up again, anxiously wringing her hands together. "See anything?"

"Yes," Strife answered curtly, offering the merest _twitch_ of his head as an affirmative nod. With a barely audible grunt he holstered the pistol he had been carrying, and rolled his shoulders. The series of pops that shattered the calm stillness of the night was loud and echoing, but even that brought forth no change in the Rider's posture.

"Well, what is it?" The Lady Watcher asked impatiently, futilely turning her own azure eyes towards the canopy. "What could _possibly_ bring you to this forsaken part of the Third-"

Strife pitched forwards, and _leapt_ , and the Lady Watcher's question quickly devolved into a confused, surprised squawk of indignity as the White Rider plummeted down the side of the cliff. Wind howled as it whipped past his falling form, and he quickly angled himself downwards, picking up even more speed. He frowned as he neared the earth, and just before he impacted with the solid ground below he twisted his body, righting himself.

The resulting crash echoed across the silent forest like a thunderclap, and the cloud of dust kicked up from the Horseman's landing rose above even the highest tree.

And yet, as the dust cleared amidst the trees, Strife strode forward – barely a limp to hinder his progress. Easily a three-hundred foot drop, and yet the Rider walked, as though the fall had barely harmed him. The crater behind him finally settled, shattered earth ceasing to cascade and crack as the multitude of minuscule noises finally died down, and silence settled across the undergrowth again.

At least, until the Lady Watcher appeared by his side again, materialising in a puff of sickly black smog, her little wings batting irritably as she glared at him with narrowed eyes. "Are you _trying_ ," she hissed under her breath, "to attract every Soulless within a two mile radius of us?!" Her comment went ignored as the White Rider drew his twin pistols and trudged forwards, barely even acknowledging her presence. She may as well have spoken to the tree not too far to her left. "Are you even listeni-"

"No," Strife answered, curtly, _honestly_ , as he broke into the undergrowth, using his pistols to hack away at any (relatively) sturdy branches that tried to bar his path. The little part of his stony visage left uncovered by his mask had set into a determined scowl, yellow eyes narrowed on pasty grey skin. Eventually the undergrowth swallowed him up, leaving the Lady Watcher all alone at the spot where Strife's landing had upended the very soil.

"…Of course he's not listening," the Lady Watcher groused to herself. "When does he ever?" _Honestly, why couldn't it have been War instead_? She thought bitterly. At least _he_ would have killed her quickly by now and spared her this… this _arctic_ apathy. With a bitter growl, she quickly darted forward. The undergrowth meant nothing to an ethereal being like herself, so within moments she had caught up to the White Rider, choosing to linger behind him silently as he trudged forwards, acting for all the world as though she didn't exist.

Finally, after several minutes of painful silence, they emerged from the constricting undergrowth, stepping onto charred shrubbery and broken bark and wood. A gaping wound had been carved into the forest canopy, allowing a waterfall of dazzling moonlight to cascade onto the flattened undergrowth – and the wrecked, broken aircraft that had crashed upon it. Once smooth metal had been folded and rippled from the impact, as vicious clefts and rips had been torn into its hull. The thrusters at the tip of its wings had been ripped clean off, resting on opposite ends of the small clearing, and even now, the smoke billowing from the all but burnt-out wreck rose high into the air, blending into the night sky above.

The Lady Watcher blinked, once, twice, in incredulity. Strife had _seen_ this, from more than _a mile away,_ _ **at night?!**_

With a grunt, the Horseman trudged forwards, as though the sight before him barely fazed him. In a blink, Mercy and Redemption were cocked and ready. The Horseman's fingers were resting across the trigger guards, a single twitch away from coming to rest on the trigger and _firing_ , in case any Soulless made the pitiable mistake of coming near him. With thudding steps he neared the wreckage, the Lady Watcher following in tow, and… the closer they came to the downed craft, the more apparent it became that this was _not_ an act of the Soulless. The eldritch, sickly green blood that had been splayed over the wing loaned credence to the suspicion – and the suspicion was all but confirmed when Strife knelt down and used Redemption's barrel to raise a tangled mass of charred, bloodstained webbing into the air.

"Spider-kin?" The Lady Watcher asked, shocked. " _Here_ of all places?!"

"Unsurprising," Strife muttered as he rose to his feet, yellow eyes scanning the undergrowth around them for more traces of the foul beasts. "Ysilik lies in ruin, and the Abyss threatens to swallow what remains of Achidna's realm whole. Of _course_ the Spider Lords have fled across Creation," he spoke lowly, his voice a deep, velvety baritone. His eyes locked on something, then, between the various ferns and vines covering the forest floor in the distance. With practiced, measured haste he surged toward it, once more kneeling and using Redemption's barrel to pry the shrubbery aside.

Curiously, the Lady Watcher hovered over Strife's kneeling form, and beheld… "Claw marks? And… a mask?" She asked, eyeing the plastic piece of headgear with disdain. It looked more like a visor than anything else – it seemed completely inefficient. Slit eyes, bony white appearance, and red markings, like… "Looks like the visage of the Soulless," she muttered lowly.

"Radicals," Strife spoke dismissively, rising to his feet. "Nothing of value was lost." His eyes traced the claw marks, far too narrow to belong to any beast. "The humans were dragged away," he said, following the trail. "Deeper into the forest."

" _They_ would claim they're _not_ human, Strife," the Lady Watcher spoke snidely, pointing at the bony mask – and wincing as it was splintered to pieces under one of Strife's greaves.

"Then 'they' are fools," the Rider spoke curtly, trudging forwards.

"What do you think happened to them?" The Lady Watcher asked as she drifted beside him, keeping her eyes on the wreckage they were leaving behind. "I doubt the Spider-kin were so rash that they'd just _attack_ the one race the Council has declared to be left alone…"

"It matters not. Our task has not changed," Strife replied finally. He came to a stop at the base of a very, _very_ wide tree – and frowned at the hollowed section between the roots. "A tunnel… We have found their nest," he said, turning to regard her. "Return to the crash site, and purge it. Leave no trace. Then come and find me."

"…I shall," the Lady Watcher obliged snidely, her gaze still locked on the tunnel entrance. "…Do you think there are survivors?" She asked bitterly. Far be it from her, a _Watcher_ , to show concern for these human mongrels but at present _someone_ had to, and it certainly wasn't going to be Strife.

"Irrelevant," Strife replied accordingly, readying his pistols. "Our task is clear: No traces, no remains."

And with those words, the White Rider disappeared into the darkness of the cave. The Lady Watcher keenly observed the tunnel entrance for a moment longer, before sighing dejectedly and turning around, floating back to the crashed craft. "No traces and no remains, you say…" She mused, and with a flex of her spindly fingers a ball of bright purple fire flared to life in her palm. "I can do that…"

Suddenly, it became _quite_ clear why the coldest of the Four requested a Watcher.

* * *

Once more her eyes gazed upon that familiar amber void, cracked and frayed at the edges of her vision, as blotches and splatters of shadowy black moved to form the images she had grown so accustomed to over the last three years.

Beneath a fragmented image of the moon, a blank smattering on a black void, the shadows writhed and skulked between pillars of concrete and steel. They clung to corners and edges, moving swiftly, almost assuredly, towards their prize – a vast ocean of jutting crystal shining, _blooming_ in the midst of the concrete jungle. As the moon soared overhead at a rapid pace, quickly completing its nightly cycle, the shadows convulsed and converged on the crystal field, greedily swallowing the dazzling arrays of red and blue and green and yellow and white into their murky embraces, and just as the moon disappeared from the black void above and the sun started to peek past the crag-like mountains in the distance, the shadows dispersed – and where there once swirled a miasma of crystal, now nothing remained.

And in a blink, the vision disappeared – leaving a fifteen-year old Ruby Rose staring dumbly at the upside down magazine in her hands.

With a startled noise she quickly righted the magazine in her hands, turning her hooded head from side to side to see if anyone had seen her spacing out. When the store turned out to be nearly empty – as it would've been _this_ late at night, she thought – she couldn't help but release a relieved sigh as she lowered her hood and placed the magazine back on the rack it came from. After all, reading about the latest in sniper rifle ballistics was interesting, but it got pretty old after reading the article for the fifth time at as many stores.

She hummed thoughtfully as she played that vision over and over in her mind. She had been experiencing it for months now. At first she'd honestly thought it had something to do with the Schnee Dust Company's mines, maybe another spat between them and the White Fang. Yang had placated her then, telling her there wasn't really much they could've done. Sure, they called in to report the possibility, but… Well, it wasn't like they paid any mind to two kids rambling about shadows, after all.

In hindsight, she thought with an awkward expression, _maybe_ they could have planned it a bit better.

For a handful of months they did nothing.

Then, however… Then the news broke about the chain robberies. At first it was relatively minor, a stolen shipment here and there, nothing too 'major' as Yang called it. Then the stores across Vale started getting hit, one after the other – seemingly chosen at random, but they all had one thing in common; they all happened late at night.

She tried reading more into the vision, honestly, she did. It became pretty obvious her vision was about _one_ of the Dust stores at least – it had to be. And the fact that she kept seeing it despite all the robberies meant that the _one_ specific store hadn't been hit yet. Sadly, her vision was sorely lacking in details. _Stupid ink blots_ , she thought with a huff.

But _that_ did not deter Ruby, not at all.

Making _full_ use of the four weeks Yang had before she started at Beacon, Ruby and her sister had taken the honourable and totally-not-reckless duty of nightly patrols onto their shoulders. Well, it wasn't _really_ a patrol, no matter how much Ruby would insist otherwise. They would just… go to random Dust stores and wait until closing time. It wasn't very effective, true, but hey – there were more than a dozen Dust stores across the city of Vale, and they were _not_ close to each other at all.

It… hadn't been as effective as Ruby hoped it would be.

They were down to three stores left, this one and then two others on the other side of town. That wasn't what was disturbing Ruby. Sure, there was that urge to help out however she could, and that _distinct_ sense of failure she felt in the pit of her stomach when another robbery report was broadcasted on the news, but even that wasn't as big as what she was feeling now.

Tonight… would be the last night Yang could help her out.

Her older sister was already cutting it dangerously close, using the time she should have spent preparing to leave for Beacon to help Ruby on her mission of justice (it totally was!). Tomorrow Yang would _have_ to focus on packing and getting ready, and, well… That meant Ruby would have to go at it alone.

She didn't focus on the little bit of sadness that fact made her feel. Sure, Yang had constantly been by her side since… since they met Uriel, three years ago. And sure, it _would_ be lonely without Yang there – difficult, even, seeing as she'd have to handle her visions alone for two years. But Yang was going to _Beacon!_ She was going to train to become a full-fledged Huntress and that was _so cool_ Ruby couldn't help but feel an exuberant pang of joy just _thinking_ about it.

Besides, Yang had promised her she'd come back every break she got, and even some of the less cluttered weekends. At first Ruby was resistant – after all, becoming a Huntress was _hard work_ as Uncle Qrow kept telling them, but Yang wouldn't hear any of that. Every time Ruby tried telling her fiery older sister that she didn't expect that, Yang would just seize her in a hug and lift her off her feet until she shut up.

Speaking of, where was Yang?

Ruby scanned the different isles around her for a moment. Not at the uncut crystals… Not at the dust dispensers either. _Hmmm._ Finally she jerked a bit as she remembered, and her lips formed a perfect 'o'. _Oh yeah,_ she thought bashfully. _Bathroom. Way to go, Ruby_. Honestly, who forgot where their sister went for barely five minutes? Sure, she was having a vision but _that_ wasn't an excuse!...

…no matter how much Yang repeatedly told her otherwise.

A loud _hiss_ suddenly interrupted her thoughts; it reverberated through her ears and struck her right between the eyes and she couldn't help but flinch from the shock as the corners of her vision bled amber again. _Twice in five minutes?_ Ruby thought as flickering shadows started to dance across her vision. _Ugh and it's the worst kind too…_

Sometimes the visions took over what she saw completely. Like, colour, shape, darkness and lighting, _poof!_ All gone. Just… Just that ugly amber nothingness, and then the stupid ink spots would start coming together and shaping images. Sometimes they were quick, sometimes they took ages, sometimes they made her head hurt and sometimes they didn't. Sometimes they happened while she slept, sometimes they happened when she was awake. They were always a pain in the butt, though.

But these… These were worse.

Ruby called them 'half-visions' because she could still see (somewhat) clearly around her but the _shadows_ , they formed wireframes not unlike some of the material in all her weapon magazines, and they'd always flicker across her vision and it was _so annoying_ she just…

She took a deep breath then, closing her eyes as the sounds kept echoing in her ears. A loud hiss, the scrape of scales against the earth and the erratic beating of wings, she noticed. She opened her eyes again, ducking her head down so her fringe obscured her eyes just in case anyone saw the amber rings surrounding her silver eyes. She kept her gaze directed at the tiled white floor, a blessing in disguise as the shadowy wireframes danced across her vision. She saw sinister, curved fangs and deadly talons clashing, ripping at murky flesh as a titanic battle raged.

Then a familiar pair of boots entered her vision – just before she was _surrounded_ in comforting warmth and hoisted off her feet.

 _Again._

Yet despite being so utterly _used_ to this happening, she couldn't stop the mirthful laughter bubbling up inside her, and it spilled from her in joyous peals. "Y-Yang! Quit it!" She wheezed silently, trying to look back to the main counter. "The owner's gonna throw us out! Put me down already!" She giggled, kicking her legs wildly.

"Hmm. Nope!" Came the bubbly reply, and Ruby realized Yang was also giggling. "Not until you quit the whole 'kicked puppy' look, Rubes."

Their giggling persisted a few moments longer, with Ruby trying – and failing – to wriggle out of her sister's ironclad grasp. The pseudo-vision persisted all the while, showing Ruby the same things; fangs, claws, feathers, glowing eyes, and all the while the sounds of battle raged in Ruby's ears, fallout of a titanic clash between beings that made her head shake and quiver with every harsh impact. Despite it all, though, Ruby's smile failed to fade – even when the vision (if it could even be called that) did. "Okay, okay," she said finally, getting her giggling under control. "It's over, it's over, now put me down before we start getting weird looks," she said.

Mercifully, Yang set her down, smiling widely. "Eh, I dunno, sis," she said with a shrug, her lilac eyes flitting towards the counter. "Store seems pretty empty to me. What, still no badguys?" She asked, propping her fists on her hips. Ember Celica rested on her wrists, shifted into its compact form. "Aw. I was hoping for a good brawl before I leave. Junior's men didn't put up much of a fight, after all."

Ruby felt the smile on her face become a bit forced as she shuddered slightly. By sheer luck she'd been present when Yang had 'renovated' that club, as her sister had so insistently put it. Even in Ruby's own… rather eccentric family it wasn't every day you saw your sister punch a club's owner clean out the front door.

Oh look at that. She even felt relieved that the badguys didn't show, now that she thought back to that night. Go figure.

"Eh, you'll have plenty of fights when you're at Beacon, sis," Ruby told her, walking down one of the isles and subtly guiding Yang away from the more volatile Dust. Just in case. "I just…" She paused, sighing wistfully.

Yang quickly picked up on the silence, and placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Yeah, I get it. This one of those visions you're getting tired of too?"

"Like you wouldn't _believe_ ," Ruby huffed, idly scratching at the back of her head. "I mean, this store's name even made me excited! Like, "Dust 'til Dawn" is well, hey, wordplay! Dusk until dawn, like, like in the vision. But… Guess I was wrong about that too." Her shoulders slumped, just a bit. "It's… It's frustrating, Yang."

"Hey, hey, chin up now," Yang quickly stepped in, seizing Ruby by both shoulders and offering her as serene a smile as the fiery girl could. "Remember that talk we had three years ago? The one after meeting Uriel?" She asked. "It's… we both knew this wasn't going to be easy. What matters is that you don't let it get you down. You're trying your best. That's good enough – even Dad and Uncle Qrow think so," she said honestly.

Ruby looked up at Yang with hopeful, gleaming eyes for a moment, before smiling. Some of the tension leaked out of her. "I… I guess," she admitted. "I just… A little part of me thinks that, if I'm going to be Huntress, just _trying_ isn't good enough. Not if I keep making mistakes like…" She sighed, looking around her. Still, the store seemed empty, with only a jaunty hum from the old man behind the counter breaking the relative silence.

Her mulling was cut short, however, when she was hoisted into the air again by one of Yang's hugs. "N-Not again!" She giggled, struggling to free herself. "What's with you tonight?"

"You're forgetting Qrow's first lesson~," Yang said in a sing-song tone of voice. "Think you can remember it? Think fast though, sis – I'm getting the urge to swing you around! Maybe even talk to you in baby-talk," she said mischievously.

At that point the klaxons had started blaring in Ruby's mind. _Here? In public?!_ "Uhm… Ah… Balance! N-No, focus! Definitely focus! Or was it centre of gravity? No I think was focus! Definitely focus!... I think?" Upon hearing Yang's hum of disagreement, however, Ruby's eyes widened – even more so when Yang already started moving her to the side, preparing to start spinning.

She had to think fast! This was officially a combat situation in her eyes – the enemy had her at a disadvantage and was about to do something intolerable, and Ruby couldn't allow that to happen! So she did the only thing she could at that precise moment:

She bit Yang right on the ear.

The reaction was instantaneous. "Aiee! I give! Uncle, _uncle!_ " Yang yelped, immediately relinquishing her grasp. Ruby quickly regained her footing and stumbled upright, but try as she may, she couldn't stop giggling – and when her silver eyes locked with Yang's lilac ones, both girls broke down into mirthful, happy laughter, their shoulders shaking slightly as they tried to keep the volume down, just in case a late-night customer stumbled into the store looking for a replacement dust-lamp or something. Finally they managed to rein themselves in, although the smiles on their faces persisted.

"I was _actually_ talking about what Qrow taught you _before_ your lessons began," Yang said finally, her voice still a bit strained from the laughter. "The same thing he taught me, before I even went to Signal. Mistakes… They're a part of life, Ruby. You can't…" She trailed off, eyes growing slightly distant. "You can't just… not make any mistakes. They're gonna happen. What matters…"

"What matters is that you learn from them," Ruby supplied helpfully. Yeah, she thought, that _was_ the first thing Uncle Qrow made them understand. He told them that growing, as a person and as a Huntress, was making mistakes, learning from them and doing your best not to repeat them. She perked up. There it was again: ' _Doing your best'_ – just like she was doing now.

She turned to survey the dust store around her. It was still quiet as a mouse, with the overhead lightning dancing across the surfaces of the multi-coloured crystals and gems and even small packets of Dust. The owner's humming drifted over the high-rising shelves – and for a moment, it seemed completely serene. _At least this place is still safe_ , Ruby thought with a smile.

"There we go!" Yang said, grinning broadly as she ruffled Ruby's hair. "That's much better. Just keep smiling, sis – I'm sure this'll all work out just fine," she said, seizing Ruby in a one armed hug that made the young Huntress-to –be smile warmly. "Now let's go home, kay? Doesn't look like anything's going to happen here – it's almost closing time anyway." Then her smile became somewhat mischievous again. "And if I'm remembering right I _think_ I know where Dad hid the strawberries this time…"

The statement drew a snort and a giggle from Ruby. "You know how put out he gets when you find them, right?"

"Psht. It's his own fault for not hiding them better," Yang quipped, and for a moment the two of descended into another fit of laughter – at least, until the front door opened, and a sharp chime interrupted both their laughter and the owner's humming. "Wha? Well someone's out shopping late…"

Ruby, however, had no such thoughts. "Yang, what if… What if it's-"

"Do you have any idea," a voice rang over the shelves they hid behind, casual, yet confident, "how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?"

The tell-tale _click_ of a firearm being cocked cracked the silence much the gunshot it could lead to, and made Ruby's jaw drop. "P-Please… Just take my lien and leave…" The owner's voice had lost the joviality it held while he was humming, now quivering in abject horror as he was likely staring down the barrel of a gun. Ruby and Yang glanced at one another, eyes wide in alarm, and their shoulders tensed.

"Sssh, we're not here for your money," the charming, confident voice rang out again, before lowering an octave or two. "Grab the dust," it instructed.

And at that moment, someone who could only _ever_ be identified as a thug stepped into the aisle – and Yang's eyes narrowed in recognition. The mobster saw them first, though, and was quick to brandish a wickedly curved red blade, and his eyebrows knitted behind the crimson shades he wore. "Hey, you kids," he ordered, trying to sound imposing and commanding. "Up against the wall, and put your hands where I can see them!"

Ruby and Yang, however, merely looked at each other, an inquisitive gleam in their eyes. "Say," Yang spoke up, raising a finger in objection. "This _is_ a robbery, right?" She asked. "You know, like 'Give me your money or I'll cut you,' it's like that, right?"

"…Yes," the thug said measuredly, despite his left eye twitching rampantly behind his glasses. "Now p-"

"And if we don't comply?" Ruby asked, her eyes wide and innocent as she crossed her arms behind her back – already reaching for Crescent Rose's deployment lever. She fought really hard against the smile tugging at her lips as her fingers traced the cold steel.

Well, she _did_ say she was going to build a sniper-scythe, didn't she?

The mobster made an exasperated choking sound, before his frown turned downright fierce. "Do I need to say it?!" He said loudly, waving his blade wildly. "Now back up and _show me your hands!_ "

Ruby and Yang merely looked at one another again, their eyes once more shining inquisitively – before Yang's eyes narrowed and a grin stretched over her face; a grin Ruby quite willingly returned as her finger's wrapped around Crescent Rose's handle. "Oh I'll show you my hands, alright…" Yang said lowly, and with a mechanical hiss, Ember Celica unfurled itself and stretched across her hands and forearms, cocking menacingly.

The thug's fierce look dissipated, replaced by one of worry. "Wait, what the-"

Then, with a valiant battlecry, the two girls charged.

The poor thug didn't know what hit him.

* * *

For the umpteenth time in the past several _years_ , her world became a blur of colour and fleeting shapes as she was sent tumbling through the air. Amber sky turned to murky brown ground and back to amber sky faster than she could register, and if she weren't as dazed as she was the rampant shift in focus would have made her eyes sting. Finally, however, gravity decided to end her struggles…

…and with a loud _thud_ , Uriel found herself laying on her back, head spinning as she tried futilely to focus on the two suns hovering above, peeking out behind golden clouds.

She tried to shake away the daze, and attempted to take stock of her current situation. She was breathing heavily, her limbs screamed in protest of her every movement, her hair clung to her forehead and the sides of her face and her armour had been chipped and scratched in places. She blinked in confusion as she tried looking around. Where was her –

With a loud _chink_ , Abbadon's old sword – _her_ sword, she corrected herself – embedded itself tip-first into the earth several feet to her left.

She nodded, slowly. Weapon found, she tried to manoeuvre herself into a sitting position. The armour clad around her right arm clinked as she moved it, hoping to use it to push herself into a sitting position – before the flat of a _colossal_ blade came to rest on her elbow, pushing her arm back down. Uriel shot a baleful glare at the blade's wielder, one laced with pent-up frustration and exhaustion.

War, in response, feigned mild intrigue, if the way one of his eyebrows rose but a fraction under that red hood of his was any indication.

Grumbling under her breath, Uriel conceded, letting her right arm – her _normal_ arm – go limp. With a series of clicks and hisses her left arm, now a prosthetic forged of black, wrought steel and adorned with a variety of golden glyphs and runes, took on the duty of propping her up. Three years ago, when she had first received the limb, it had been an exercise in futility to even hold a blade with it; now, though, she was much more dexterous with it – even if she stumbled just a _bit_ while trying to sit upright.

"How much longer," she asked testily as War held out his gauntleted arm, the Chaoseater long since resheathed on his back, "are you planning to keep throwing me around in this place?" Despite her frustrated tone of voice, she reached out with her steel arm and graciously accepted the offer of assistance as War helped her back to her feet.

"I _should_ say three years more, given that tone of voice," War spoke simply, and Uriel promptly narrowed her eyes at him. "However, I am far from petty. You've fought well enough these past few months. I believe you have mastered your new limb as much as you can with aid. The rest will come with time… and practice," he said, before turning on his heel and stalking off to the camp site he had set up.

Uriel turned to survey their battleground before following. Her eyes scanned the glades of golden foliage and the streams of water clear enough to act as near-perfect mirrors. Luscious forests bloomed in the distance, and graceful mountains peeked out far behind them. The two suns above shone brightly, and a magnificent breeze tickled her face and toyed with the feathers of her wings. Gazing upon this place, the felt her frustration ebb away.

It, too, was a remnant, she was aware. It was a piece carved out of a realm long since lost to the Abyss, anchored in place by the Council's magics and reserved one of many practice grounds for the Four, should they ever have need of such places.

But there was something that made this place infinitely more special to Uriel – something that made her ever grateful to War for choosing it, no matter how trying her training could be at times. She turned her gaze to the distant sky, where the golden clouds turned into a spiralling vortex of purest white. A golden light shone at the eye of this vortex – a light that _called_ to her.

This realm was close to the White City.

Even if she could not lay eyes on the home she yearned for, she could _feel_ its light flooding her very being. She suspected _that_ was why War chose this place. Over the past three years she felt the essence of Heaven return to her, bolstering her, flooding weary muscles with new energy and filling a heavy heart with unspeakable joy. Being so close to her home… It revitalized her greatly, and served only to spur her into attacking the obstacle posed by her new limb with _that_ much more fervour.

She turned away from the spiralling clouds then, shaking her head. Much as she yearned to return to the White City, it would be a while still. She had a greater task that called to her – and judging by how War was sitting patiently in the distance, for once not doing anything related to training her, Uriel suspected the Council had decreed she was ready to start. "What news is there of Ruby?" She asked earnestly as she approached the Horseman.

"You will see for yourself, soon enough," War said with a slight nod. "It is time for you to return to the Third Kingdom. The Council has decreed that you will make use of the various havens established by the Four while you act under their jurisdiction. You are aware of what you have been tasked with?"

"Yes," Uriel answered quickly. She would be more than just a simple liaison between the humans and the Charred Council; it had been made abundantly clear to her that she would be doing so much more. Aside from judging those the Seer wanted to bring into the fold of Creation's knowledge, and uttering a verdict once she had taken their souls and spirits into account, she would also be expected to act as a guide for Ruby Rose - someone to help her come to terms with whatever she saw in a vision, someone to offer her advice when she experienced strife and discord, and finally – and most importantly – someone to protect her from those who would cause her harm.

The humans of old used to speak of "guardian angels". It was a humorous twist of irony that Uriel would now fulfil such a role.

"Good," War spoke with a nod. "The Council is aware they cannot send you into the human settlements whenever the Seer needs you. As such, they have sent Fury to speak with Vulgrim, and negotiate terms under which he will allow the Seer access to his network of Serpent Holes in the Third Kingdom."

"Vulgrim?" Uriel asked, her faced marred by a distasteful frown. "Truly, War? Is there not a more trustworthy source to approach regarding this matter? Vulgrim is a _snake_!" She said. "What of… What of Ostegoth? Or the Horsemaster?"

"Ostegoth…" War's frown deepened ever so slightly. "He ran afoul of Samael during one of his exchanges a few centuries ago. The demon wounded more than his pride… Ostegoth's mind is slipping, Uriel. Just a decade ago he severed ties with Fury and refused to barter with her further. Claimed she was just another face the Mad Queen wore."

"That…" Uriel's expression morphed to one of shock. "That's _preposterous!_ Few people despise Lilith more than Fury – there are _angels_ who hate the Mad Queen less than your sister does!"

"And yet, Ostegoth's belief does not falter," War spoke simply. "He cannot be trusted to deal with this matter. Vulgrim, however, never reneges on a deal – and his network of Serpent Holes is the largest in Third Kingdom. It is also linked to several of the havens you will be using during your stay there."

Uriel couldn't help but frown. It was practical, she realized, pragmatic and the best course of action there was – especially if Ostegoth had been maddened to the point of being suicidal enough to even mention Lilith in Fury's presence, let alone compare the Black Rider to the Mad Queen. That did not mean she would just accept it, however. "I still do not trust Vulgrim," she said simply. "I _will not_ trust Vulgrim. There can be _no good_ in a being who finds joy in feasting on the souls of the deceased."

"On that, we agree," War said with a nod. "Only fools trust Vulgrim himself. _You_ need only trust in his ethic. It is not just payment that will ensure his loyalty," the Red Rider said, a hint of confidence creeping into his stoic tone. "Even Vulgrim fears Death's scythe – and if he dares harm a charge of an agent of the Council," he said, motioning to Uriel with his normal hand, "they will not hesitate to send my brother after the offender."

For a moment or two, Uriel's frown persisted – before she loosed a weary sigh. Her shoulders and even her wings slumped, and she took a deep breath to calm herself. "I do not approve," she repeated. "But if you are certain of the demon's loyalty, then… I will trust you, War. It is the least I can do."

War responded once more with only a nod. The face etched into his giant left arm lit up then, glowing a bright, _fierce_ gold as tendrils of light writhed and swirled in his palm, corralled and guided by the sharp talons adorning the gauntlet. "Abbadon's blade is expertly crafted," War spoke as the light started to weave itself into a shape, "but it is not infallible, as you have seen. As such, Death has decided to return something he borrowed from you, so many centuries ago." And finally, the light took form – and Uriel's breath failed her.

She was almost intimately familiar with the war-glaive that was being held out towards her. A knot formed in her throat as she reached out and took hold of the weapons, her eyes taking in, _drinking_ the details of a weapon she had long since parted with in the darkest time of her life. It looked exactly the way she remembered it – from the oaken shaft to the ornate golden sleeve to the two bluish prongs that crowned the weapon.

"Sunder…"

It was both a painful reminder and a heartwarming memento of the century she had spent on Earth, following Abbadon's fall and the Destroyer's victory. While it spoke to her of a century of struggles and strife, of brothers and sisters lost… it also reminded her of the greatest victories she and her brethren had achieved in those times, and every smile and smirk and bout of laughter that had taken place during those years.

She shook her head, then, swallowed twice to dispel the knot in her throat and blinked a few times to clear the mist in her eyes. Honestly, she had thought she was beyond such emotional reactions by now.

Instead she opted to perform a few practice movements with the Sunder. Uriel had always preferred the sword, but she was skilled with a large amount of weapons, as a General – or former General – in the Hellguard should have been. The glaive was as balanced as she remembered it to be, its tip knifing through the air in graceful arcs that trailed bluish tints in their wake. She took to the skies in a series of graceful twirls and spin, using the glaive as it was intended to be used, and utilizing every part of it, from the sleeve to the shaft to the butt-end of it as a weapon. Finally her short routine finished – and she touched down again.

"Death claimed he had no more use for that weapon," War spoke from where he was sitting. "It has served him well, however, and it should relieve him to know it is back in skilled hands."

After so many centuries fighting beside War – and against him, at times – Uriel recognised praise from the Red Rider when she saw it. She chose not to comment on it, however. War was not the type to make a fuss over compliments. Instead she merely offered him one of her rare smiles, and dispelled the enormous glaive clutched in her hands. In the distance, Abbadon's sword – _her_ sword – disintegrated into stray flecks of light as well, waiting on her to call it to battle when the time was right. "What happens now?" She asked as she folded in her wings.

War gazed into the golden distance, his emotionless eyes unfaltering. "Negotiations are still in progress," he said finally. "Fury left for Vulgrim's domain with the souls of one of Ysilik's broods in her possession… but the demon is shrewd, and intrepid. Doubtless he will try to bargain for more than the Council offers," he grumbled. In the distance, a crimson portal sprang to life, twisting reality into a swirling red hue as the magics that sustained it crackled and snapped. "For now, you return to the Third Kingdom. That portal will take you to one of the Four's havens, close to the kingdom of Vale. From there…" He trailed off. "Your Ortho is waiting at the other end of that portal. Do as you did before you met the Seer," he said finally. "Slay the soulless, purge those who do not belong in Man's Kingdom… it matters little, as long as you stay near the haven." He fixed her with a stern stare. "I will find you when a compromise has been reached, and then the Seer will be led to you again."

Uriel nodded once, and strode towards the crimson portal. It whipped up harsh winds where it stood, a most unusual sight, and amidst the swirling mass of crimson the angel saw hints of a darkened realm, caught in the midst of a mighty storm. The symbol of the Four, though, shone brightly – a glowing beacon of blue in the murky darkness. The Grimmlands, as the humans called them… How fitting. "And if I were you," War's voiced called her attention in the distance. She turned to face her long-time friend and rival, an inquisitive shine in her golden eyes. "I would write a letter, at least," the Red Rider said. "We have ways of delivering it, and it is better if the Seer expects you."

Uriel turned her gaze back to the swirling mass of red before her. A hopefully uneventful trip through the Charred Council's personal network of Serpent Holes was all that stood between her and the Remnant of the Third Kingdom – it was all that stood between her and the start of her tremendous task. Idly, she glanced down at her new arm; the digits of her hand hissed and pitch-dark steel fingers clenched into a fist, creaking from the force of her ironclad grip. This task would be an infernal weight on her shoulders – but it gave her purpose. It gave her hope, and for that, she would bear it gladly.

The days of Uriel, the Hopeless Exile were over.

"I cannot even begin to show you how grateful I am…" She said mutedly, turning back to the Red Rider. "Everything you've done for me… You have truly gone above and beyond your call, War."

"No. No, I have not," War grunted as he rose to his feet. With a burst of infernal fire and a raucous, thundering whicker, Ruin materialized next to War, his charred body forming from wreaths of flames and clouds of ash as he regarded his owner with a crimson-glowing gaze. "We are comrades in chains now, Uriel," the Red Rider spoke sombrely. "Do not offer thanks yet. This is a harsh and thankless service." With a grunt and a flow of movement belied by his natural colossal size, War clambered up onto his steed. "Time alone will tell how long that gratitude remains," he said, regarding her from atop Ruin.

Despite the rather foreboding words, though, Uriel shook her head. "You misunderstand, War. While I am grateful for your assistance during these trying times… It pales compared to what I am truly thankful for," she said. "Three years ago, when you and I squared off in that cavern in the Third Kingdom…" She trailed off, struggling with her words. "If it had been anyone but you, War, I would have perished. I nearly _did_ perish. Strife would have ended me before I had even appealed to him, and Fury… I do not think I could have swayed her. She… She does not believe in me as you do," she said lowly. "All of this… All of this happened because you chose to trust me, War. You cast aside hesitation and believed in me…" She said, a smile blooming across her lips. "That is what I cherish, War. That is why…" She fell silent for a moment, trying to piece together the best way to give her words form… before smiling again, and locking eyes with the Horseman before her.

"Thank you, War," she said simply, _honestly_.

The Red Rider regarded her silently for a while, pale eyes narrowed in thought… before the ghost of a chuckle escape him, and the corner of his mouth pulled upwards _ever_ so slightly; a scarce display of emotion from the Four's most stoic member. Even Ruin seemed to swell with pride under the words Uriel had directed at his Master. War nodded once, that bare hint of a smile still visible under his hood. "The Third Kingdom awaits," he said, his voice still bare of emotional inflection, "and that portal will not remain open forever." As if hearing someone speak of it, the crimson gate behind Uriel flickered slightly. War kicked his heels into Ruin's side, and the colossal war-horse reared slightly, loosing an annoyed whicker at the suddenly jolt, before the muscles in its legs coiled and the fire beneath its hooves flared. His pale eyes remained locked on her for a moment longer, before he spoke again: "Good luck, Uriel."

And with those words, and a might gust of bloody flame, the Red Rider had disappeared, once more swallowed by the membrane between worlds, undoubtedly embarking on yet another mission for the Charred Council.

For a moment longer, Uriel regarded the space War and Ruin had occupied moments prior. Briefly, she pondered dedicating some thought to War's parting words. She chose not to, however. War was rarely the type to hide messages in words. His bestwishes were simply that, and it was a gesture that made her small smile persist just a moment longer. Finally, though, she steeled her features, and turned on her heel. Golden eyes narrowed as they gazed at the swirling, crackling mass of red before her. She took a deep breath, and squared her shoulders.

The Third Kingdom waited, after all…

…and she had a letter to write.

* * *

"That… was… _awesome!_ "

In any other scenario, the way her excited voice echoed off the bare, tiled walls would have intimidated Ruby slightly. They were, after all, in some kind of police station, currently sitting in some kind of interrogation room, and normally she would be rather worried – after all, her dad would be _freaking out_ if he heard what was going on – but given the events that had led to her ending up there…

"You must have punched that one guy _fifteen feet_!" Ruby gushed, squirming with barely-contained excitement on the cold seat she was sitting on. "And that other guy who came into the store – Oh I hope the owner isn't too mad about his storefront," she suddenly interrupted, her voice dropping just an octave, before rising again as excitement bled back into her. "But did you see that Bowler Hat Guy's face when you clipped him with that one shot?!"

"How could I _not_ see it?" Yang laughed, a wild grin on her face as she clapped a hand on one of her biceps. "I think that actually smudged his mascara. Speaking of clipping, though, I don't think he saw your scythe coming either," she said. "He looked pretty ticked off when he realized he had half a cigar left there. Good job on the left side, by the way," she said with a wink. "Those thugs didn't know what hit 'em."

Ruby giggled at the praise, and finally her squirming stopped. "That Bowler Hat Guy got away, though… I mean yeah, we nearly had it and the fight was all cool, _especially_ when you managed to kick that Burn Dust crystal back at him and shot it in mid-air and _how did you even do that?_ " She rambled, weaving her words into a long, breathy exhale before inhaling again. "But yeah. He got away," she said, wilting slightly.

"Well he couldn't have gotten _too_ far, right?" Yang guessed simply. "I mean, Bullheads can't really go far with one thruster busted like that. Heh, go me," she grinned. "And hey, at least now the old man's insurance only needs to cover a broken window. And a singed doorframe, but eh, details." She shrugged. "So yeah, that bigwig thief got away but at least we got some I.D on him right? VPD is gonna be all over that guy, don't you worry," she said with a smile.

 _Yeah,_ Ruby thought with a small smile. That thief's name and face was going to be all over the news tomorrow and the fact that he had a previous record only meant the search was going to be more the old man who owned the Dust Shop had been very thankful – he'd even offered her and Yang… _not so small_ amounts of Dust for their heroics. They didn't accept it – of _course_ not – but they still assured him they were just helping where help was needed.

More than that, though…

The small smile she'd been wearing stretched to its fullest, and a small giggle slipped out before she reined herself in. The thing that made her happiest about tonight – apart from heroically saving the day, that is, because that was one of the best feelings _ever_ – was the short vision she had received on the way to this station. It was quick, fleeting, even; just a small bit of the vision at large. As she screwed her eyes shut in the Bullhead that brought them here, she once again saw the shadowy city in the amber void, and once more she saw the inky darkness pool out from the alleyways and slink ever so slowly towards the mass of crystal shining in the centre.

Only this time, the shadows didn't swallow the crystals; they stopped at the edge of the cluster – and fled.

The vision stopped, then – and for some reason Ruby had felt _so much lighter_ at the time she couldn't help but laugh, loudly and happily. Sure, the pilot had given her and Yang an odd look, and that point she at least had the decency to try and keep it in, but the joyous feeling that persisted after the vision ended left her smiling all the way to the interrogation room.

"I know that smile," she heard Yang talking slyly, and turned to look at her. Yang had a sly grin tugging at the corners of her lips – but soon, it relaxed, became more sincere. Her lilac eyes softened as she spoke. "We did it, huh? We stopped it?"

Ruby paused for a moment, her own smile threatening to falter just slightly as she thought how many recording devices could be dotting the room, but in the end she decided they were being subtle enough. "Yeah," she answered with a nod and toothy smile. "We stopped it."

It was an almost surreal thought. This was the first time she'd managed to do something about one of her _major_ visions and it felt absolutely gratifying; after weeks of trial and error, weeks of dashed hope and long nights, she and Yang had finally managed to _change_ something, and it ended up being for the better. In the bigger picture she was aware this effort was probably a minuscule little thing, a tiny little light, if not something smaller. But the gratitude she had seen on that old man's face, and the relief and happiness in his smile…

That made it all worth it, Ruby thought with a smile.

Then she recalled something, and her eyes widened, sparkling as she gasped excitedly and turned to face Yang "And we met a Huntress!" she raved. " _A real Huntress!_ I mean yeah, we've met Huntsmen before, I mean Uncle Qrow and Dad are both Huntsmen but this is _different!"_ She babbled excitedly, almost hopping up and down in her stool.

"What," Yang asked, her smile turning mischievous, "because she's not drunk or kooky?"

Ruby made a scandalized choking sound. "I-It's not that!" She quickly babbled. "I-I mean yeah, Dad can be… um… weird, sometimes, and Uncle Qrow isn't… well, they're… Well, this is _different!_ " She finally huffed… until a sparkle bloomed in her eyes again. "She was just so… so… Did you see what she _did_? First she stopped four shots from that cane-cannon like it was nothing and then she, she…" Ruby trailed off, trying to find a way to word to describe what she had seen. "She summoned some kind of _hailstorm_ with a flick of her wand… thing!" She finally said excitedly. "I've never seen Dad or Uncle Qrow do anything like that…"

"Pft. They could still take her," Yang said with a shrug, before adopting a relenting expression. "But it _was_ kinda cool, seeing her turn the debris into a weapon like that…"

"Right?!" Ruby asked happily. "And she did that _while_ she was keeping that hailstorm up! It was…" She trailed off, before seemingly sinking back into her seat. "Tonight was _awesome_." She sighed, smiling. Just as she was about to speak up again, however…

"Oh it was many _other_ things as well, I assure you, Miss Rose."

Both Ruby and Yang froze and stiffened when the crisp, strict voice cut through the relative silence that followed after Ruby's gushing. Timidly, they turned to look at the door, and blanched slightly when they saw the same Huntress who saved them earlier standing there, with her wand-whip-thing in one hand, a larger-than-usual scroll in the other – and a _chilling_ scowl on her face.

Ruby gulped – and squirmed when the gesture sounded _so loud_ it practically echoed off the walls.

"Not only did you two place yourselves _and others_ at serious risk by taking the law into your own hands tonight," she spoke up, striding forwards with a measure of confident purpose, "but you also caused large amounts of damage to civilian property," she finished, levelling a _pointed_ glare towards Yang, who only managed a shaky shrug and a somewhat strangled noise. "What you two did tonight was reckless, dangerous, _irresponsible…_ " Her frown deepened for a brief moment… before fading away. "…and surprisingly courageous," she finished. "You were quick to come to the aid of a civilian in need, and he has asked us _personally_ to relay his thanks to you."

A breathy inhale escape Ruby before she could stop herself. _Commended… by a Huntress? A real Huntress?!_ It took all of her self-control not to fly into another tangent. She didn't trust herself not to do something silly like ask for another autograph. As she turned to look at Yang, silver eyes met lilac, and with grins on their faces the sisters relaxed. Yang even seemed ready to let out one of her boasts…

…until the Huntress' riding-crop-wand smacked down on the table between with a mighty _crack_ , and whatever Yang had planned on saying degenerated into a half-squawk, half-gurgle as her hands shot off the table. Ruby only realized her _own_ hands had left the table as when she found herself wringing them together on her lap again.

"That _hardly_ means you two are off the hook," the Huntress said sternly. "Usually your reckless behaviour would result in us informing your parents of your little vigilante activity – especially when the perpetrators are seventeen and _fifteen_ …" She emphasized that last word, narrowing her eyes at Ruby, who could only chuckle nervously and half-heartedly. "However… It's quite apparent that you two aren't normal children, so to speak. As such, there's someone here who'd like to speak to you."

With those words, the stern Huntress stepped aside, and from the shadows beyond the doorway another person stepped into the room. Ruby felt her breath catch in her throat as she recognized him – the silver hair, the greenish suit, the scarf, the weird baton-like cane. _Ozpin,_ she thought with mounting excitement. _The Headmaster of Beacon Academy is here…_ Then her elation gave way to worry, and she grimaced. _Oh no… The Headmaster of Beacon Academy is_ here _!_

She chanced a glance towards Yang. If ever there was a forced smile, Ruby was looking at it right now – she never knew her sister could get that pale…

"Ruby Rose," Ozpin spoke up finally, shifting the tray of… cookies? There was a tray of cookies balanced on his hand, Ruby noted absently. "…And Yang Xiao Long. Not the best night to take a stroll, I assume?" Ruby at least _tried_ to offer a bashful giggle at this comment; upon seeing the corner of the Headmaster's mouth twitch upward, she would even go as far as to say it worked. "I'm sorry. It is late, and you must be exhausted after tonight's events. I won't keep you long. I am merely curious as to how two young girls turned out to be the heroes in a tale that otherwise could have ended quite tragically," he said, pointing to a playback of their fight with the thugs displaying on the Huntress' scroll. "Tell me… Where did you two learn to fight like that?"

Ruby chanced a glance at Yang again; her sister, while still looking apprehensive, had relaxed somewhat. Her lilac eyes still shone with a hint of worry, but most of the tension was gone; as though it had melted away in the presence of Ozpin's cordial manner. Absently she noted she had stopped wringing her hands, too. "S-Signal Academy?" She answered warily, before clearing her throat. "Well I learned _most_ of it there, anyway. I started… a bit earlier," she said, interrupting herself. She couldn't tell him she started hounding Uncle Qrow to teach her how to use a scythe mere days after meeting an _angel_ , could she?

"Yeah, I'm a Signal graduate too," Yang supplied, that worried shine in her eyes nowhere in sight all of a sudden. She was even smirking.

"That would explain why we found your details in the database of prospective students for Beacon Academy," Ozpin agreed casually, with a statement that made Yang's smirk drop slightly. Nonetheless, the Headmaster smiled, strolling forward and setting the tray of cookies down on the table before taking a seat. Ruby hesitantly eyed the baked goods for a moment, before tentatively reaching out and picking one up. Once the flavour exploded in her mouth – _chocolate chip_ , she noted – her first instinct was to gobble the morsel up entirely. She stopped short, however, upon remembering she was sitting at a table across from the Headmaster of Beacon Academy.

As such, she chose merely to nibble on the cookie. Yang observed her critically for a moment, before shrugging, smiling, and grabbing one for herself.

"I couldn't help but notice something when I watched this feed," Ozpin spoke up again, motioning to the scroll still clutched in the Huntress' hands. "Those stances and movements seem strikingly familiar," he said cryptically, alternating his gaze between Ruby and Yang. "They remind of two people who used to wander through Beacon's halls. A volatile old dragon," he said with a smirk, looking at Yang, "and a dusty old crow…"

Ruby smiled earnestly. "Yeah! Uncle Qrow taught me. I saw his weapon when I was younger and I thought it was _so cool_ so I quickly put a small one together myself, but… Eh, I wasn't very good. Uncle Qrow found me out in the back one day and said the way I was using the scythe made him wanna go get drunk all over again so he took me in and started teaching how to use it properly," she quickly rattled off, her smile persisting. "Now I'm all like…" She trailed off, before miming several sloppy martial arts moves.

It made Yang laugh, Ruby noticed, an earnest laugh. Her sister reached out and ruffled her hair as she looked at Ozpin. "My dad taught me how to fight," she said simply. "He noticed I had a habit of going at things with my fists, and he was like, hey, we fight similarly, let me teach you," she finished with a shrug. "We had great teachers. We're kicking _tons_ of butt nowadays," she grinned.

"So I noticed," Ozpin nodded, a small smile on his face. "Which begs the question: what are two happy-go-lucky young girls like yourselves doing at a school that trains warriors?"

Ruby opened her mouth to answer, with that same instinctive answer she'd been practicing for so long – but she stopped herself, instead swivelling her gaze over to Yang. Those lilac eyes, however, shone with confidence, and Yang gave her a broad smile and a thumbs-up. The gesture reaffirmed Ruby's instinctive belief, and she turned to face Ozpin with a confident smile. "We want to become Huntresses," she said firmly.

"You want to slay monsters?" Ozpin asked, raising a brow.

"W-Well, that's probably part of the job-description, yeah," Ruby said with a half-hearted chuckle. "But it's _so_ much more than that; Dad and Uncle Qrow are always teaching us to help people, that it's a good thing and something the world needs more of, and Huntsmen and Huntresses… They _exemplify_ that," she said. "They're the ones who help out wherever it's needed. They're the ones who fight back against the Grimm, the ones who ensure there's a peace to be kept in the first place. They… They're here to make things better," she said finally, smiling – both at Ozpin and the Huntress, and to herself. "That's… That's who I want to be."

 _It's who I've always wanted to be_ , she thought, averting her eyes for a moment, _even before… back then_. Her mind drifted back to three years prior – that stressful, worrisome yet _amazing_ night in the empty cavern where she had an encounter that changed her life. " _If you are so willing to fight for your world, little Seer,"_ Uriel's words repeated themselves in her mind, with _perfect_ clarity, " _then I am willing to fight for you."_ Those words had meant so much to her. They still did. It may have been three years since she'd heard from Uriel, but although she missed the angel, and truly wanted to see her again, she wouldn't let that deter her in the least. She had her goals, her dreams, her ideals – and she was going to see them through, no matter what.

"…Silver…"

She jumped when she heard Ozpin muse that world aloud, and quickly met his gaze again. His eyes seemed almost inquisitive – there was a gleam to them that seemed almost calculating, almost… _critical_. She'd seen that shine in Uncle Qrow's eyes a few times in the past. With a blink, however, the gleam was gone, and Ozpin offered a smile. "I assume you already know who I am?" He asked her.

 _Duh_ , she thought. "You're Professor Ozpin," she answered immediately, the corners of her lips pulling upwards into a small smile. "You're the Headmaster at Beacon Academy. Dad and Uncle Qrow have mentioned you a few times. Um… Hi?" She offered lamely, with an awkward smile.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Rose," Ozpin returned the gesture with a nod, before leaning forwards and lacing his fingers together. For a moment it looked as though that inquisitive shine had returned – but it was gone before she could even blink. "So…" He spoke up again. "You want to attend my school?"

Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened slightly. "Y-Yeah! I mean, I've only got two more years to go at Signal and all the teachers are already saying that I… I…" She trailed off, and took a deep breath, steadying herself before answering again. "Yes. I… I want to go to Beacon. More than _anything_."

The Headmaster regarded her critically for a moment longer, and every second that ticked by seemed to make Ruby's heart constrict that much more – before finally, he averted his eyes, turning to look inquisitively at the Huntress standing beside him. Bright green locked with dusky brown – and much to Ruby's bewilderment, the Huntress merely rolled her eyes in a frustrated, almost beleaguered manner before snapping her scroll shut. With a smile, Ozpin turned back to face her. "Well," he spoke, an intrigued undertone to his voice, "I suppose we could make a few arrangements for a prodigy like yourself."

For a moment, a deafening silence bloomed in the room as Ruby processed what the Headmaster had just said. All the breath left her lungs and it felt as though her stomach was doing cartwheels, and her heart was hammering in her chest so quickly it left a dull ache lingering there. "Does… Does that mean…?" She dared to ask.

Ozpin merely smiled. "We'll have a seat reserved for you on the next major flight to Beacon," he said simply, before taking a sip of his coffee.

For a moment, Ruby didn't even _know_ how to respond to that. Her mind raced at a thousand miles per minute, alternating between laughing, giggling, squealing, dancing, _singing_ – the sheer _joy_ she felt at that moment seemed to make _something_ thrum along every single strand of every muscle in her body; it was as though she could feel the happiness and excitement in her very bones. "Heeeey, you _might_ want to consider breathing again sometime, Rubes," she heard Yang speak to her side. Feeling the smile stretch across her cheeks she turned to regard Yang – and upon seeing the happy smile and the excited gleam in those lilac eyes, Ruby settled to do the only thing that seemed fitting.

With a joyous, squealing, _pealing_ laugh, she dove right at her sister, wrapping her arms around the blonde's neck as they were both sent tumbling to the floor in a mess of tangled limbs, messy hair and raucous giggles.

Ozpin regarded the two girls with a smile as he continued to sip his coffee. Glynda didn't seem too happy about the current predicament – but such was her disposition. And, he noted, while the Huntress certainly wasn't smiling, or even grinning, at the youthfully happy spectacle she was tiredly looking at… she wasn't quite frowning either. With her, it was always the little tells that mattered. Besides, after all the years teaching her and working beside her, Ozpin knew that Glynda was every bit as impressed as he was with the display those two girls put up – even if the strict disciplinarian in her refused to outwardly show it most of the time.

His smile persisted as he took another sip of his coffee, tactfully remaining silent as little Ruby Rose went on and on about this was a 'dream come true'.

He got the feeling the next four years were going to be… quite interesting…

… _Especially_ if those eyes factored into the matter.

* * *

Despite telling herself _over and over_ that she should be prepared for a colossal bloodbath, the Lady Watcher still flinched with every staccato report of gunfire that echoed off the cavernous walls around them.

Mercy's four barrels belched blue flame, the sigils lining its frame glowing an almost blinding white in its true master's hands, and before the Watcher's very eyes everything above a charging Spider-kin's neck turned into a gloopy, singed paste before its carcass dropped to the ground. The otherworldly revolver had already fixed itself towards another Spider – this one hurriedly scuttling away from the pistol's wielder.

A futile effort.

Emotionless yellow eyes worked at a downright _abhuman_ pace, using the brief flashes of light given off by Mercy's shots as metaphorical strobe lighting; a mind honed to a razor's edge whirred to life as gears of cold, ruthless pragmatism churned, fuelled by soul-numbing apathy. Movements and tactics, this gunman always claimed, were easily predictable; they were nothing more than simple probability. And no matter how improbable said probabilities tended to be, a sharp mind had no trouble calculating them. ' _Read your enemy. Know where they will move before they even think of moving. Know what strikes they favour before they even engage. Know the course your foe will take, and the battle is won before it even started.'_

Such was the power of Strife's mind – his most dangerous weapon.

Redemption soon joined its brother-pistol in the slaughter; its singular barrel loosed deafening fire, akin to the greatest of Heaven's artillery. It belched light instead of fire, the bright flash from the gunshot so bright it shone right down the barrel and out across the cylinder well. The Spider-Kin were felled by torrents of death shaped as lumps of brass and steel, and the twin pistols sang a mounting operatic choir of destruction; every flash of gunfire-light revealed the two shining guns aimed at a different target, their wielder effortlessly turning every direction around him into a veritable kill-zone.

And not _once_ did the apathetic frown leave Strife's face.

Finally, the chaotic symphony reached its climax; a final gunshot from Redemption ended all cacophony of carnage that had erupted in the underground cavern when the White Rider stepped into this pseudo-nest. The ringing echoing off the cavern walls echoed off into the distance, falling silent, and a new song took its place; a torrential murmur of agony and fear – both from the floor, where the lucky Spider-Kin who survived lay groaning with pain … and from the sides of the cavern; muttered mumblings formed words choked with fear, the voice forming them normal, plain… _human_.

Survivors, the Lady Watcher thought dryly. No doubt they were already fostering the flower of hope in their hearts, thinking the colossal gunman had come to free them.

Those poor, deluded fools…

If the Council wanted them _freed_ , they would _not_ have sent Strife.

"Light," the Horseman demanded in the darkness, his voice still like the surface of an undisturbed lake; calm, cool… almost ethereally so. The Lady Watcher obliged, flexing her clawed flingers through the air. With a loud _hiss_ and a few pops, several clouds of azure flame flickered to life in the dust-laden cavern, hovering of their own accord and basking the little nest in an ethereal light.

"Aw thank fuck," she heard a human speak from the side. "I thought we were do-Oh, holy _shit_ what the fuck is that?!"

 _Charming_ , she thought acerbically as she hovered towards the White Rider. The Horseman had already strolled forward, seeking out the fallen Spider-Kin with the most intricate carapace, a sign of ranking in any of the Spider Lords' broods. As he went, Redemption and Mercy hovered and fanned out to his side – dispatching whatever surviving spiders their barrels sniffed out. Contrasting the earlier crescendo of gunfire, these shots were sombre; sharp, loud _cracks_ in the air as the taciturn Rider dispatched his foes with ruthless apathy.

Finally they found their target; a carapace weaved from blood and bile, at first glance, shielded a broken body and snapped legs as eight terror-stricken eyes gazed at them. The monster's claws futilely scraped at the cavern floor as it tried to escape its hunter – but it was a meaningless gesture; like a lamb bleating hopelessly as it was dragged off by a ravenous wolf. "Wh-What the fuck's he doing?" the panicked whisper came from the side, and the Lady Watcher had _half a mind_ to snap at the impudent fool – had the Rider not drawn her attention first.

"This one," he said simply, pointing at its prone form. "Check its mind and find what we seek, Watcher."

She spared but a moment to lament once more the fact that her retainer for this task was such a distant, acerbic bastard – but she obliged again, swooping forward. The Spider-Kin tried its luck – one of its scythed limbs snapped out, aiming to decapitate her in one fell swipe… but another loud _crack_ and a burst of fire from Redemption's barrel sundered the limb completely. "Do the great spiders lash out like common cockroaches now?" She taunted as her wiry fingers curled around the beast's cranium. "It matters little," she crooned sinisterly. "When I'm finished you'll be less than _either,_ little _maggot!_ "

A single flex of her clawed fingers was all it took. The beast's mandibles parted and a downright _agonised_ shriek filled the cavern as the Watcher's Abyssal magics tore its mind asunder, cannibalizing its thoughts and memories in order to structure a coherent picture of past events. A sick, wet gurgle echoed from the beast's skull as its eyes turned ashen before shrivelling into little prunes, and by the time the Watcher was finished, there was nothing left; even the basest cognitive functions, like _breathing_ , had been consumed by her vile work.

"W-What the fuck man?!" The rabble's voices echoed from the side again. "Bitch is a monster! Fuck… Shit! Help! _Someone help us!_ " She spared them a single disdainful glance; how the mighty had fallen, indeed. Once proudly-displayed uniforms of black and white, adorned by that red beast's head, were now frayed and in tatters. There were four of them, she saw – a woman and three men. Had she been made with lips, she would have smirked – the woman, especially, seemed so horrified the emotion wafted off her in palpable _waves_.

How stunningly _beautiful_.

"Focus, Watcher," Strife's level baritone cut into her shorts, and she turned a baleful glare towards the White Rider. And yet, even that failed to draw a reaction from him. Those yellow eyes remained narrowed, clear of all emotion. "What did you find?"

"These… These were outcasts," the Lady Watcher responded in kind, speaking clearly and _revelling_ in the gasps of shock that came from the human prisoners as they realized their 'monster' _spoke their language_ '. "Part of Suchea's brood before they were _foolish_ enough to attack a passing vessel – _their_ vessel," she said, motioning to the captive humans with a twitch of her head. "To say Suchea was displeased is… an understatement. These exiled rats were three times more before she flew into a rage. She took the rest of her brood and fled South, towards… _Mistral_ , I think." Again, the captive humans broke out in hushed whispers, but even in the dim lighting she could see the glimmers of worry and fear in their eyes. "A smaller party split off and started moving to Vale. Although Suchea seemed to think the Soulless would kill them long before they arrived…"

"When?" the White Rider inquired - a hint of venom crept into his tone.

"Two weeks ago," the Lady Watcher replied. "By now Suchea's brood has likely breached Mistral's countryside. And stragglers who made for Vale… they are likely dead."

"And them?" Strife asked, turning his arctic gaze towards the humans bound in silk. They _flinched_ at the intensity of the Rider's eyes. "What purpose do they serve?"

"Food, mostly," the Lady Watcher said with a shrug, and a feeling of giddiness bloomed in her chest when the revelation only served to spur those pitiful humans into a further panic. "The Soulless do not offer much in terms of nutrition; one of those humans would have lasted these dregs a few days, at m… What… What are you doing?" She trailed off. Strife had ended her report prematurely, and now stalked towards the cocooned humans lining the wall. With thudding footsteps he came to a stop before the smallest one, the woman, a good arm's length away – and the Lady Watcher nearly _laughed_ when she saw that, even after being strung a foot above ground, Strife was _still_ looking down at her.

The woman whimpered when she saw the colossal figure come to a halt before her. Dirty, dust-addled pink hair framed a small, almost round face, one smudged with dirty tear-tracks and bruises and scrapes. The way her canine ears were pressed flat against her skull, and the way her little lip quivered was _fascinating_ in the Watcher's eyes, and when she saw a brief flicker of hope in those amethyst eyes she nearly giggled. "P-Please," the pitiful woman spoke, her voice cracked beyond all hope of normal speech. "I-I-I didn't… I don't… Please, I… I have a brother to look after," she said, a distressed whine lingering beneath her words. "I-I'll stop. I promise I'll stop, I'll quit the Fang and I'll run and you'll n-never hear from me again, just _please…_ " she begged, her plea ending in a terrified sob. " _Please let me go_."

The Lady Watcher laced her fingers together, eyes narrowed in anticipation as she watched the scene unfold.

And lo, did it _unfold_.

One moment, the pink-haired lass was staring hopefully at Strife's face, those watery eyes tracking the mask Strife wore and drinking in _every detail_ as desperation and hope seemed to be the only things keeping her heart beating.

And the next…

The next moment, she was staring down Mercy's four barrels.

She barely had time to scream before the pistol roared and spat fire, and painted the sickly-white webbing around her shoulders a nauseating pink with the mist it had turned the top half of her head into.

Her lower lip quivered but twice more before her form slackened.

The result was instantaneous; the remaining three radicals exploded into a raucous cacophony of fear and rage, howling pleas and threats at the top of their lungs as Strife strode down the impromptu firing line. Mercy roared again, and once more white silk turned red as a skull turned to fine paste under gun's ruthless payload. The threats then dissipated, and the howls became weeping sonatas of begging and pleading as the final two radicals' fate drew ever closer. Another stared down Mercy's barrels, and this one at least managed a roar of fury before the four-barrelled pistol liquefied his head. And by the time Strife stopped before the last radical, the song of anguish and sorrow had all but died down. This last man – a square-jawed, narrow-eyed louse with some kind of antlers sprouting from the side of his head – merely squinted through tears of terror at the White Rider, and with a shaky voice, begged the question: "Why?"

He received no answer – Mercy silenced him as it had silenced his comrades, and as the final corpse slackened, Strife turned away. "Burn the corpses," he said stiffly, "then come and find me. Our work is not done."

"I thought we were to investigate the disappearances?" The Lady Watcher asked, flinging azure flame onto the discarded human corpses – and those of the slain Spider-Kin – with but a few dainty flicks of her wrist. "And cull any who didn't belong in the Third Kingdom. Did we not succeed?"

"No," Strife answered earnestly. "Suchea's brood still prowls this world, and _this_ little spat proves her dominance is waning," he said coldly. Already he was tracking his way back to the cave entrance. "As long as she lingers, our mission continues."

"And the humans?" the Watcher asked curiously. As _vindicating_ as it was to see the White Rider slay those curs, she couldn't help but wonder why it was so. Was she not sent with him to deal with any witnesses, to erase their memories of whatever they should not have seen, but did? "Why kill them?"

The Horseman did not even turn to face her as his answer came from the cave mouth.

"The Council's command was clear," he said, a _venomous_ edge to his voice. "No witnesses… and no survivors."

* * *

Ruby Rose had thought that her first course of action when the giant airbus finally docked would be to rush outside and drink in the details of Beacon Academy looming in the distance. Her heart _did_ start beating faster with every inch the ship crept closer to the school, after all. Her excitement was palpable, her eagerness obvious, and most of all her desire to see just what other _extravagant_ weapons the other Huntsmen and Huntresses in training were wielding was almost too much!

Now, though, that excitement had to wait.

Because _now_ she was too busy trying to duck out of the way of a tall blonde boy who looked like he was about to _hurl_. She shivered at the thought, and crossed her fingers, hoping the ship would actually dock before the poor boy got barf on her cape – or worse! On Yang's _hair_.

She'd go hide in the toilets if that happened, she thought with a resolute nod. If only until the sounds of total warfare in the distance stopped.

Fortunately luck seemed to like her today. The airbus lurched to a stop, and a chime accompanied with a robotic recital of "Destination Reached: Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale" signalled the large docking bay door opening. A burst of cool, fresh air exploded into the metallic hallway, making her cape billow – _heroically!_ – as she stood near the forefront of the queue, beside Yang. Her sister grinned confidently as light soon followed the burst of wind, and she quickly whipped out the pair of aviators Dad had gotten her about a year back and donned them.

Finally, with a loud _hiss_ , the doors opened far enough to let the prospective students and returning students both stream out as though a floodgate had been opened.

Almost shepherded by her seniors on either side, Ruby pressed forward, her smile growing wider and wider with every step she took. She could _faintly_ hear that blond boy dry-heaving over the bustling chatter of the students around her, but she couldn't see him – partly because he was likely obscured… but _mostly_ because her eyes kept tracking the weapons adorned on the bodies that sifted past her. There were almost too many to keep track of; from a bullet-adorned purse to a simple pair of armblades, from a collapsible axe to an absolutely _gargantuan_ cross-shaped kite shield, it seemed as though Beacon would have no shortage of variety in terms of armament.

And to think, she'd read something about _sparring in class_. Just the _thought_ made her giddy!

The crowd started to dwindle, then; bunches of students scurried off in pairs to go lounge about the courtyard. Likely they were the returning students who already passed initiation and had their own dorms assigned. It was pretty easy for Ruby to keep track of where all the new guys were going; a long line of students steadily moved towards the castle-like building in the distance. The sight of that towering structure made it all feel so surreal; she was supposed to wait _two more years_ before this was even possible, but now…

Now, here she was. Boosted ahead two years and starting at Beacon Academy purely because she decided to do the right thing and help someone in need.

Life had an _awesome_ way of treating her nicely, she thought with a chuckle.

She felt a hand settle on her shoulder, and turned to see Yang standing there with a wide grin on her face. "Looks great, doesn't it, sis?" She asked, looking down at Ruby and letting the aviators slide down the bridge of her nose _just_ enough to let a hint of lilac peer over the lenses. "I almost can't believe it," she laughed, pulling Ruby into a one-armed hug. "Here I thought we'd be limited to CCT calls and weekend visits. Now… Now you're actually here _with me_ ," she said, her smile seemingly twinkling in the sunlight. "Heh. Just when I thought 'you're going to Beacon, Yang,' was the best news ever…"

"It's exciting, yeah," Ruby said, placing a hand over the arm that kept her pinned to Yang's side. "So many weapons to see, so many things to learn…" She trailed off, before she gasped, her eyes going wide. "And that Huntress who worked with Professor Ozpin is actually a teacher here!" She said giddily. "I mean yeah, she can be scary and strict and that whip-thing of hers is really, _really_ loud when she smacks it on tables but just _imagine_ what she could teach us!" She said, smiling – before the smile shrank. "It's not going to be easy, though," she said, almost wistfully. "Uncle Qrow assured us that much."

"Signal wasn't supposed to be 'easy' either, remember?" Yang asked, peering at her sister over her shades again. "Just relax, sis. Chin up and eyes forward and everything'll be fine. I promise," she said cheerfully. "And besides: I'm here too, remember? No matter what happens and no matter how hard it gets," she said, giving Ruby a supporting squeeze, "we're in this together. We always will be."

Despite the worry that was threatening to start bothering her, Ruby found herself smiling at the gesture, returning the hug despite their awkward posture. "Yeah," she said with a nod. "Together."

They fell into a relative silence then, even as they broke off their awkward side-hug, but the smiles didn't leave their faces. Ruby squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, before casting a determined glance towards Beacon looming in the distance. She took a moment to secure Crescent Rose to its spot on her back, shouldered her little knapsack in which she kept her drawing pad – _Just_ in case – and grinned, before turning to Yang. "Ready to go?"

Something flickered in Yang's eyes – the most fleeting semblance of pride – before a truly excited grin blossomed on her face. She opened her mouth, ready to answer, her hand already moving to don her aviators again…

Except instead of Yang's voice, the sisters' ears were assaulted by a sound not quite unlike a dying mammal's final, distressed wheeze.

Their expressions a mix of trepidation, concern and not a small amount of disgust, they turned to face the source of the sound. Recognition flickered in Ruby's mind as saw the tall blonde boy from earlier hunched over the trashcan off to the side. "Is he okay?" She heard Yang ask under her breath. "He kinda sounds like Qrow on a Saturday morning…" She flinched back when the boy let loose another shuddering gurgle. "How has he not hacked up a lung yet?"

Ruby elbowed Yang in the side, and took a few tentative steps forward. "Uh… Hey, guy?" She asked hesitantly, gingerly reaching out a hand to place on his shoulder. "Are… Are you gonna be o-" She was interrupted by yet another convulsing heave, and when she heard something wet and sloppy and _icky_ splatter down into the trashcan she quickly took a step back. _Ew, ew, eeeew, nope!_ She thought to herself, a discomforted expression on her face. A very, _very_ tiny part of her considered offering moral support from afar, in case the blond boy's high-velocity puke somehow managed to splatter her. The thought alone made her shudder, despite the fact she told herself she shouldn't.

"Hey," Yang said, as Ruby felt one of her sister's hands landing on her shoulder. "Some of my friends from Signal are calling me over," she said, motioning at a distant crowd. They were all waving erratically at Yang, their faces split with smiles and grins. "I just gotta go tell them what's what, get some things cleared up, okay?" She said, giving Ruby a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I'll be _right_ back."

With that, she strode off – less a casual saunter and more a determined, efficient stride as she made her way to her group of friends. Ruby sighed as she watched her sister go. She wanted to argue the point, she really did – Yang had friends too, after all, and she deserved to spend time with them. Especially after… Especially after her number of friends grew smaller, because of Ruby's 'sickness' when they were at Signal. But Yang never wanted to hear any of that.

If anything, their meeting with Uriel three years prior merely made her more attentive, and more devoted than ever.

Sometimes it was smothering, she would admit – sometimes it was even uncomfortable, to the point it brought a frown to Ruby's face whenever Yang decided to play the 'Big Sister' role to its fullest. But… There were many other times Yang's dedication made Ruby smile. She'd always be standing ready with some kind of treat or a warm hug whenever Ruby got a vision, and she'd always be the first to speak up when people inquired about Ruby's so-called 'sickness'. The memories alone were enough to bring a smile to her face.

Even if she could be overbearing at times – Ruby was happy Yang was _her_ sister.

She took a deep breath, and squared her shoulders. Yang was being proactive – so maybe it was Ruby's turn to be, too. Yang _was_ always (lightly) pushing Ruby to 'step forward' and make friends, even if she had to keep pretending her gift-slash-curse-slash-pain-in-the-butt was just a very weird disease. Beacon, she thought, was the perfect opportunity to do so; nobody knew her, after all.

So what if she wasn't… _good_ at socializing? She'd never fix that if she didn't try, after all.

So with a resolute expression, she strode forwards again, until she was side by side with the boy currently slumped over the trashcan. He wasn't as pale as he was on the airbus, Ruby noted – but that didn't stop his cheeks from puffing up again, and he quickly shoved his head back into the trashcan and puked again. At a sudden loss for words, Ruby did the only thing could think off:

With a dainty, careful gesture she started rubbing the boy's back, right between his shoulder blades.

The armour he wore over his hoodie made it awkward – and at one point Ruby almost thought it wasn't working – but the low-key, mumbled "… _thanks…"_ that echoed from within the trashcan at least confirmed that Ruby's gesture was helping. It made the tension in her arms and shoulders seep away, and the circular movements of her hand became slightly less shaky. "You gonna be alright?" She asked, tilting her head in an attempt to try and peer past the rim of the trashcan. The blond still didn't withdraw his head from its confines – but one of the hands gripping the edge of the bin gingerly rose and offered her a shaky thumbs-up. "Airsick?" She ventured a guess.

"… _Motion_ sick," the blond boy's voice echoed inside the trashcan, shaky and exhausted despite the fact the day hadn't even started yet. "…Very common problem…" He heaved.

Ruby blinked. Wasn't that going to be a problem for him…? "You _do_ realize we'll be using the Bullheads for tasks and projects outside of Beacon right?" She asked. The blond boy merely let out a whimpering noise of distress – one that quickly devolved into yet another wet, gurgling heave as more puke splattered onto the bottom of the trashcan. Fortunately the boy couldn't see Ruby's conflicted – and slightly disgruntled – expression. _…Maybe not the best way to start a conversation,_ Ruby thought sombrely, her mouth set into a thin line. "I'm Ruby, by the way," she said, hoping to steer the conversation in a better direction. "What's yours?"

"… _Jaune…_ " The voice echoed, before the boy finally straightened up somewhat. Blue eyes blinked blearily as they focused on Ruby, and the guy looked so out of it Ruby had to try not to giggle at the dopey expression. "Jaune Arc," he finished, straightening up completely. "Short, sweet, rolls off the- _hurk,"_ he covered his mouth suddenly, and instinctively Ruby took a step back. It was a false alarm, though – just a nasty hiccup. "Ugh… Let's not talk about rolling just yet…" And at that point, Ruby found herself giggling despite how hard she tried not to. "Thanks for that," Jaune said earnestly, smiling himself as the mood started to lighten. "I'd offer to shake your hand, but… Yeah, no," he said, looking towards the trashcan as he dug his hands into his pockets.

"Eh, don't mention it," Ruby said, shrugging in a carefree manner. "My sister always helps me like that when I get really nauseous. You looked like you needed something similar," she said with a smile. "I thought it wasn't going to work though. Your armour was… kinda in the way," she said quickly.

"It always is…" He said with a long-suffering sigh, before straightening up. "Say… I don't mean to sound, y'know, ungrateful or disrespectful or anything, but… you look kinda young," he said with a curious expression. "You skip a few years?"

"Oh…" Ruby balked slightly, starting to fidget in place. _Ugh. Of_ course _he'd ask that question._ "Y-Yeah, I got boosted ahead two years after…" After what? ' _After me and my sister stopped a robbery by attacking some thugs?'_ Nah… "I did a test," she said lamely. "It was… it was hard. Yeah. A hard test."

"But you passed, right?" Jaune asked quickly, before flinching at his own question. "Geh. Of _course_ you passed, you're here aren't you?" He asked rhetorically, adding a muttered " _Smooth, Jaune…"_ under his breath. "Say," he spoke up suddenly, realization dawning on his face. "You don't mean that tall blonde girl you were talking to, right? Is she your sister?" He asked, somewhat surprised. "You two look nothing alike…"

That, at least, made Ruby chuckle softly. The way Jaune smiled in response made Ruby realize the boy thought maybe he'd been funny enough to make her laugh. And in a way, she thought, it was true – Jaune was turning out to be cool. Mostly, however, her chuckle was one of relief. At least now they were moving away from why she was at Beacon. "We get that a lot," she said with a smile. "You'll see she's my sister when she gets back. She's… attentive," Ruby said measuredly.

To her surprise, Jaune merely chuckled at the statement. "You too, huh? Yeah, I know that feeling," he said with a shrug. "Seven sisters here. Even the little ones end up babying me sometimes," he mock-lamented. "Still. I wouldn't trade them for anything."

At that, Ruby smiled fully. "Yeah, Yang's like that too. But she's great – she always comes running first whenever something makes me sad or angry. She…" She trailed off, giggling at all the memories. "Sometimes I swear she's on standby when I'm not looking," she chuckled – and to her great delight she found Jaune sharing in her wistful laughter.

"Yeah _that_ sounds familiar alright," Jaune said with a nod. "Kinda sounds like Ciel…" He paused, before letting out a long-suffering sigh. "…and all my other sisters too."

Ruby grinned. _Seven sisters_ , she thought. _That's a looooot of Christmas gifts…_ "So what are their names?" She asked innocently.

Jaune blinked once, before shrugging slightly. "Well I just told you about Ciel. She's the second oldest, eight years my senior. Then there's-"

Ruby would have thought Jaune had stopped talking for a moment if she didn't notice the echo that last word caused in the sudden dullness of the sounds of the world around her.

Unfortunately that was as much warning as she could have hoped to get.

With a burst of white noise screeching in her ears her vision bleached itself; heightened contrast turned everything mixed shades of black and white and her eyes felt as though they were being torn apart from the insight out as a sharp pain _hammered_ right into the centre of her skull. Already the sounds assailed her, the tell-tale signs of a coming vision; loud _thuds_ hammered away at _something_ in the distance, each strike loosing a wet _squelch_ and a loud _snap_ as a rain of clinking bits of steel played in the edges of Ruby's hearing.

Her eyes crossed again as another wave of pain lanced through her forehead, and even through the garbled, muted sound of the real world around her, she heard herself yelp in pain as she clutched at her temples.

A vision was approaching – one of the worst she'd felt yet.

She had to get somewhere secluded… _fast_.

"…by… _Ruby!_ " Only then did she noticed Jaune's concerned voice, and felt the hands grasping her by her shoulders. Tentatively she looked up, flinching slightly when the collapse of colour around her painted the boy's face a stark white, the shadows lingering there suddenly taking on a sickly grey shade. " _Are you okay?_ " His voice seemed higher, shriller, yet… distant – muddled, as though Ruby was underwater. Everything was… _distorted_.

"… _M-My meds…"_ She repeated the practiced excuse, and winced again at how alien her voice sounded, a baritone of odd bass and deep rumbling replacing her standard voice. " _I need to go find Yang…_ " She managed – before pain pierced her skull again, striking through all the way to her forehead and making her eyes cross painfully. She closed them, wincing when her eyelids stung as though on fire, and valiantly shook herself loose from Jaune's grasp. " _I'm so_ rry," she heard herself mumble as the white noise finally started dissipating. Her head still pounded painfully though. "I… I'll talk to y-you later Jaune," she said as she took a shaky step away from the blonde boy, reaching back to pull her hood up so she could at least cover up the pale sweat that was starting to form on her face.

"Are you… Are you sure you're okay to be alone now?" She heard Jaune ask, his voice tinged with concern and confusion. She wanted to answer him, offer him a grin and say she'd be fine once she got her 'meds'. But again, the pain pulsed, this time travelling all the way down her spine and eliciting a _shudder_ from her. Her voice seemed to fail her as she heard the white noise creeping into the edges of her hearing again, she simply shook her head and took off, walking briskly and reluctantly ignoring the concerned way Jaune called after her.

Her hearing shook again as the monotonous thudding sound started up again; it was like _something_ sturdy was hitting _something_ … less sturdy, going by the way the muted cracks and splatters seemed to echo whenever it hit home. Then that annoying cascade of steel… _things_ started up again and the sheer pitch of it was enough to make Ruby cringe as she walked. She thought it sounded like… like that one time she let the container of nuts and bolts topple to the side in Signal's workshop, and all the contents went raining down on the cement floors. Like that, just…

It increased in volume, to such an extent that it nearly drowned out all other surrounding sound.

…Just much more annoying, she thought dumbly as she continued her sightless journey forward.

After a moment of trudging forward, her sight too bright to properly distinguish where she was going, Ruby really, really considered just going for broke and calling out for Yang. She _was_ headed in the direction Yang said her friends were… right? Because yeah, calling out now would likely make her look like some kind of kid, but the alternative…

She winced as another jolt of pain surged into her, this one going down past her hips and even making her knees buckle.

She steadied herself with a discomforted expression, raising her arms ever so slightly just to keep her balance up as she squinted to try and differentiate between objects in the vast whiteness before her. _Yeah_ , she decided glumly, _guess I have to… Stupid vision…_ So with a resigned breath, she took a lungful of air, opened her mouth…

…and felt her knees collide with something solid.

Ruby's world became a tumbling mess of blurry white and sharp dark as one foot hooked under something solid, and with a calamitous crash the young redheaded girl was sent tumbling forwards. Her stomach slammed down onto something hard and cold before she slid off the weird object and was sent careening to the cold, hard ground – face first.

For a moment the fall took the wind out of her sails.

Then her sight nearly _collapsed_ on itself as a wave of agony unfelt before rippled through her mind, and given the fact that Ruby's face was currently pressed flush against the ground, she could only quiver and let out a pained, pitiful whine as she regained her bearings. Then…

"What are you doing?!"

Ruby _sincerely_ hoped whoever had such a shrill voice didn't see her flinch as the high syllables ricocheted around in her skull. Truly, she did. Blinking away the spots in her vision, she shakily rose to her feet; that hollow ringing in her ears persisting all the while. "Do you have any idea how valuable all of this is?" That shrill voice asked again, and amidst the great contrast that suddenly dominated her vision, Ruby could just barely make out several square containers. The sudden brightness… _everywhere_ around her robbed her of most of the details apart from a few blurry outlines but she could vaguely make out some red splotches in the cases as well. "…M'sorry…" She slurred, stumbling back to her feet.

"You're _sorry_?" The voice sounded incredulous, and Ruby squinted to try and make out who was speaking. About as tall as she was, long hair, blue eyes (she hoped) and… that was all she could make out. That, and the stern posture. Oh boy… "Do you even know what you're… Hey," the voice suddenly became much less outraged. It even sounded… concerned? "You're not looking too good… Are you okay?" The voice asked, and the bright, blue-eyed person took a few steps forward.

The pain returned then – a pulse of agony that spread through her skull with every heartbeat. Ruby ducked her head low, hoping her cape would obscure most of her grimace, before trying to pour some cheer into her voice. She raised a shaky hand, intend on waving the blue-eyed girl away, before…

 _Wait…_

 _Wha…?_

 _Why's everything white?_

She blinked – or at least she tried to. Honestly it _felt_ like she blinked but that didn't make the blank, white… _whiteness_ before her disappear. She blinked again – she felt her eyelids move this time she _swore_ it, but again; no flicker of darkness. She couldn't even feel her limbs at that point. The white noise in her ears had all but dissipated and even that tremendous headache had faded… as thought the white void had just swallowed up all her problems.

Then she noticed it.

Several specks were forming in the white nothingness, little rips on the white fabric seemingly tearing themselves into existence…

…and with mounting horror, Ruby recognized the amber glow shining through them immediately.

 _No. No, no, no, not here!_

With all her might she started struggling, pouring what little will she could muster into instinctive movements. She felt a stirring where her shoulders were, but the cracks in the void kept forming. Gritting her teeth – or at least, doing something that _felt like it_ – she struggled more and more. She was quite sure she'd be kicking and spasming if she weren't… _here_ but dammit, she couldn't afford to worry about that now.

One of the amber wounds disappeared – it just… stopped being there, disappearing in a puff of dust. Another followed suit, then another… but the others, suddenly, started to grow _much_ faster.

 _Come on_ … Slowly but surely, the feeling was returning to her. She could feel tension in her shoulders, numbness instead of _nothingness_ in her hands and feet and a dull thud had started to echo across the white void in tandem with her heartbeats. _Not here… Not in front of her_ … She felt her fingers curling into fists, and cramps threatened to blossom in her legs from how she had been tensing them. But the feeling was returning to her – and the amber splotches were fading. _Just a minute more_ , she told herself, and the feeling returned to her neck and core as well. _It can't happen here… Not here… So I just have to wake… up…_

She gritted her teeth harder.

 _Come on… Wake up, Ruby,_ she willed herself. Her body was curling in on itself from her efforts; she felt her knees pressing against her chest, and her chin lightly touched against them. _Wake up,_ she repeated. _Wake up… Wake up!_

Her eyes narrowed, and amidst the white void, shapes – varying, plentiful, _colourful_ shapes – started to form again. With a final grunt she shook herself, despite not having a body to see.

 _Wake… UP!_

…And sound exploded around her again.

For some reason Ruby remembered that one time she was using a grinder and the sparks ended up flying into her eyes.

That was absolutely _mild_ compared to the stinging sensation that started clawing at her eyes now. She let out a loud hiss, one that sounded absolutely _monstrous_ amidst the dull ringing in her ears, and she futilely tried to blink away the ugly purple spots covering her sight. Faintly she became aware of two arms looped around her, cold and uncomfortable, and she could feel her knees hovering quite close to the tarmac again. _Did I just…?_

"… _n't just stand there!"_ She heard that shrill voice from before, muted and distorted through the dull echoing in her ears. " _Can't you see she's having an attack? Get help!"_

… _Nope,_ Ruby decided, shaking her head and wincing at the wave of pain that followed. _Nope, nope. Can't have that. No way. Nuh-uh._ With a groan of exertion, she seized the person holding her up by the shoulders and trying to regain her footing. " _Tha's not… Y' don't need to…"_ She slurred, her voice sounding like a low hiss to her own ears and _wow_ , pins and needles in the tongue was _weird_. She blinked again – the purple spots weren't making things easy, especially not with how the starkness of her vision seemed to blur objects' outlines. With a low whine she found what remained of her strength, and stood on shaky legs. The vision had stopped for now… but the way her peripheral vision glowed amber told her it wasn't gonna last. " _M'fine…"_ She slurred, locking eyes with the bright-haired blue eyed girl.

The disbelieving scowl she got in response nearly made her legs give in again.

" _Does that explain the tears?"_ The snowy girl asked with a frustrated tone.

" _Wha…?"_ Gingerly Ruby raised a hand to her face. Little jolts ran through her joints as she moved the semi-numb limb and idly wiped at her eyes. Despite the pins and needles buzzing in her hands Ruby could still feel the patches of wetness around her eyes. _When did I…? OH! Headache!_ She realized, and offered the snowy girl a shaky grin. " _I-it's nothing,"_ she said honestly, trying to take a step back – only to sway dangerously where she stood. The white-haired girl daintily reached out and seized her by the arm, and Ruby winced – for such a thin girl, she had quite a grip. That disbelieving scowl was still plastered on her face, and it only served to make Ruby that much more nervous.

Then an amber tint blossomed in her peripheral vision, bright enough to tint the stark white brightness of her vision a rich gold in some places, and with a worried yet muted gasp Ruby realized that time was wasting – she had to get away from this girl, and _fast_. " _R-Really, it's nothing,"_ Ruby said, suppressing a frustrated groan when her numbed tongue did nothing but give her an ugly lisp. " _I'm f-fine. Completely fi-whoa!_ " She cut herself off, swaying in place again as her vision criss-crossed briefly.

Again, she found the white-haired girls tiny fingers wrapped around her arm. " _Obviously you're_ not, _"_ the girl spoke, and Ruby shrunk in on herself when that judgemental scowl became even _worse_. " _You can't even stand without help."_ As if to prove her point, she let go of Ruby's arm – and with a dejected groan Ruby found her knees starting to wobble again.

" _S-Seriously_ ," Ruby stuttered, her voice echoing in the subdued ringing in her ears, " _I… I just need t-to get my meds, and if I can find my sister-"_

" _And you'll do that by running around like a madwoman,"_ the white-haired girl cut her off snappily, " _when you're in the middle of some kind of anxiety attack?"_ Ruby flinched slightly as she realized she couldn't quite form a counter-argument there; _that_ plan had been shot to bits sooner than expected. " _I thought so,"_ the girl said with a huff, squaring her shoulders. " _Now are you going to sit still and let me_ help,"she bit out, " _or do I need to freeze you in place while I call the school nurse?"_

Ruby flinched, and took a shaky step back. _Nope!_ She answered mentally. She did _not_ need more people coming to see her spaz out, _no way._ It was gonna be hard enough getting this girl off her back after this! Now she was threatening to call the nurse? And then what, Ruby herself would have to go for a checkup _while_ fighting back a vision? She averted her eyes, groaning inaudibly. All the dust vials in those cases told her this white-haired girl was skilled with dust, so _likely_ she could make good on her threat. Ruby _was_ fast, though… Maybe she could- " _I thought so,"_ the girl finally huffed, shaking Ruby from her little reverie. Snowy apparently took her silence for consent, if the way she was hastily tapping through her scroll was any indication. Ruby grimaced as she watched it unfold. She needed a _plan_ , but she…

She…

…She never _said_ she'd stand still, did she?

Trepidation and the _barest_ hint of pre-emptive remorse were the only things stopping Ruby from grinning. Sure, it wasn't the most honourable move in the book, she admitted – but as the amber tint in her peripheral vision grew brighter, Ruby remembered honour wasn't really the first thing that should be on her mind right now. She'd _seen_ the punishment of violating the Balance and going against the orders of the 'Charred Council'.

She'd seen what their enforcer did to Uriel.

She didn't believe herself strong enough to withstand such a punishment herself. And…

…And as touching as this snowy-haired girl's (quite icy) concern was, she was a bystander; someone unaware of just how grand Creation's scale was.

With a resolute frown, Ruby nodded to herself.

Even if it meant making her mad… Ruby was _not_ going to pull this girl into _her_ mess, into her… her _curse_.

Snowy, as Ruby had quickly dubbed her, seemed to be resolutely focused on her scroll. She raised the device to her ear as a faint ringing tone could be heard underneath the subdued, distorted sounds in Ruby's ears, but for some reason the girl chose to glare (quite viciously) at a pair of people who were watching them warily rather than focus on Ruby herself. Grimacing slightly, Ruby faked another slight sway in her step and angled herself into a direction of escape. _Sorry,_ she offered mentally as she looked away from the white-haired girl. _I… I appreciate the concern but… this isn't so simple. So… yeah… Sorry._

The amber glow was starting to creep into her vision again, and a twitch in her neck made her tilt her head as another burst of pain spread out across her forehead. It made her vision dim slightly, although it wasn't saying much given everything was suddenly so 'vivid' most of what she saw appeared white. Shaking her head and taking a deep breath, Ruby steeled herself, counted to five – and just as she heard Snowy start speaking on the scroll, she shot off, leaving nothing but a puff of rose petals in her wake.

Ruby was so far away from her by the time she noticed, her outraged " _Hey!"_ sounded so distant Ruby herself barely heard it.

The world around her became a torrential panorama of blurry lines on a white canvas as she made her towards a hopeful spot of seclusion. The sudden brightness in her vision, the echoing, distorted quality of her hearing and the sound of the wind whipping past her face as she half-hobbled, half-sprinted to isolation served to give the world around a very _alien_ feel. Despite telling herself it was just another vision, Ruby felt a ball of ice growing in the pit of her stomach; a sense of foreboding that made her shoulders tense up.

She had _never_ had a vision like this before – _never_.

She kept to a moderate pace as she ran, wondering just what was going on all of a sudden to trigger such a weird vision. On shaky feet she guided herself past whatever obstacles she could make out in the start contrast that was her sight, and the startled cries of " _Hey!"_ and " _What the hell?!"_ sounded so weird and muddled Ruby found herself ignoring them completely as she focused on keeping her legs moving. They'd already gone numb so far, but it wouldn't be the first time Ruby kept numb limbs moving. All the while she thought about what was _happening_. She had to find Yang, and soon – preferably after this colossal little bit of future sight left her alone – and talk to her about it. Her face fell slightly as she pondered that choice. _I… I wish Uriel was here,_ she thought dejectedly. _She'd know… I'm sure she'd know…_

In hindsight, Ruby would probably chastise herself for not keeping her focus on the path before her.

Because by the time her eyes registered the shock of bright red hair and the splotch of bronze before her, it was already too late. Ruby could do nothing but squawk in abject horror and warning just before she slammed face-first into something very cold and very, _very_ hard.

For a moment Ruby's world became nothing but bright white again, and she honestly would have started panicking again if her tumble to the ground didn't knock the wind out of her and make the sudden pain from her collision that much worse. Blearily she realized her head was swaying as she laid there, with the tarmac scraping the back of her scalp as her head moved, and to her immense relief every blink _did_ shroud her vision in darkness. _Then… Then where – oh there they are!_ Ruby thought lamely as the vague outlines and details started becoming a bit more visible. They were jumbled, a mess of criss-crossing lines that looked like those weird paintings every one of those evil moustachioed villains kept in their lairs in the movies. She squeezed her eyes shut again, and suddenly all the noise around her seemed that much louder. " _Owwwwwwww…"_ She groaned pathetically, shaking her head – and wincing as the action made the pain spread across her forehead shoot right to the back of her skull. " _Ow…"_ She repeated, before opening her eyes.

She could make out details again, she noticed…

…Which meant she could make out the person hovering over her quite clearly.

Vivid red hair bright enough to shine in Ruby's sudden overly-contrasting vision framed a soft face, and two equally bright green eyes stared at her with concern from under the edge of a dull bronze circlet. _Hey…_ Ruby thought, narrowing her eyes at the mortified girl. She didn't really notice how the gesture made the green-eyed flinch. _Heh. She looks kinda familiar,_ Ruby thought with a giggle. _Almost like… like… Like that girl on Pumpkin Pe-_

That ball of ice in Ruby's stomach seemingly exploded as she recognized the person hovering over – the person she had just _run into_ , quite literally – and her eyes went wide with panic.

Pyrrha Nikos.

 _The_ Pyrrha Nikos.

A plethora of thoughts flickered through Ruby's mind at a rapid pace, ranging from ' _Oh no…'_ to ' _Not again'_ and hardly even stopping at _'Why me?'_ Instead, she merely settled to voice her displeasure with a low whine of distress.

Unfortunately, Pyrrha seemed to misunderstand that sound, if the way her already worried expression seemed to worsen was any indication.

" _I'm so sorry!"_ She blurted, despite Ruby realizing confusedly that none of this was the redhead's fault at all. Her voice seemed deep, though, due to the sudden distortion – deep and rough, and Ruby would have laughed at such a voice coming from someone like Pyrrha Nikos if the whole situation wasn't stirring terror. " _I should have paid more attention to my surroundings, maybe then I could have… I… Are you okay?"_ She asked, placing her hands on Ruby's shoulders.

Ruby tried in vain to wave her off, her expression on of discomfort upon seeing how the situation was unfolding. _Wasn't even her fault,_ she whined inwardly as she closed her eyes and shook her head. The moment her eyelids shrouded her world in darkness, however, that golden tint in her peripheral vision crept inwards just a _bit_ more, and Ruby's eyes flew open with another inward _nope_. She faltered slightly when she noticed Pyrrha was looking around, scanning their surroundings, and already one hand was reaching for her scroll. _I… should probably do something about this,_ Ruby through blearily, and starting pushing herself upright. " _M'fine,"_ she muttered, rolling her tongue around in her mouth. _No coppery taste,_ she noticed. _That's always good._ She shook her head again. " _I'm… I'm okay,"_ she said again, a bit more clearly this time. Some of the buzz numbing her tongue had also dissipated. She winced again as another pang of pain shot through her skull, this one traveling down her spine and out across her shoulders again – but she grit her teeth and powered through it. " _C-Could you, uh… Help me up? Please?"_ She asked.

The 'Invincible Girl' obviously seemed quite hesitant to follow through, but nonetheless she quickly rose to her feet and offered Ruby a helping hand up. With quivering breaths Ruby stood up, clinging to Pyrrha's arm like some kind of lifeline as she tried to get some feeling back into her legs all of a sudden, and normally, she realized, she'd be quite ecstatic at being so close to a champion like Pyrrha Nikos and _wow, she's tall_ , the diminutive girl thought blankly as she looked up and met the redheaded girl's eyes again. The celebrity warrior seemed almost _painfully_ worried about her, and a somewhat juvenile part of Ruby couldn't help but giggle as that fact sank in.

" _Thanks_ ," Ruby spoke eventually, shaking her head and wincing at the sudden jolt that made her eyes cross slightly. " _I… I should have…_ " She paused again, rolling her tongue around in her mouth to get some semblance of feeling back. _Wow this is annoying,_ she thought simply as she stood there making a multitude of faces. " _I wasn't looking where I was going,"_ she finally said, slowly and precisely, and she fought back a frown as she realized how silly she must have sounded trying to speak with a numb tongue. " _My bad,_ " she droned, at least trying to seem bashful as she smiled and shrugged. Or at least thought she shrugged – she couldn't feel her shoulder so it was likely the gesture looked kinda… dumb.

She fought back a frustrated groan.

Sometimes she hated these visions _so much._

Movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention, and she looked back towards Pyrrha just in time to see she taller girl awkwardly shift her weight from one foot to the other. Despite Ruby's assurance, she still wore an expression of almost withering concern on her face, and with a grimace Ruby noted the shine in those green eyes weren't helping matters. It almost looked as though the championship fighter thought this whole thing was _her_ fault – but that couldn't be possible… could it? " _Are… Are you completely sure?"_ Pyrrha asked again, already glancing around again, as if seeking someone who could lend aid. " _You… You don't really look too well…"_

" _Oh, this?"_ Ruby asked, forcing a grin as she tried to still her own trembling body. " _N-Nah, this'll be over thoo-I mean, soon,"_ she corrected, scowling inwardly as numbness set into her tongue again. " _I just, I just, I just need to find my sister,"_ she said with a doofy shrug, already taking a few steps back. She staggered slightly, and immediately Pyrrha moved forwards, hands outstretched in case she stumbled, but the young huntress-to-be righted herself well enough. _Come on Ruby,_ she thought to herself exasperatedly. _You can hold your balance while using a huge scythe, now hold your balance while the universe tries to mess with you!_

…Actually that wasn't very effective at motivating her, she thought glumly. But introspection could come later – right now she had to get away from the Mistralian regional champion before said redhead saw her spaz out and called someone to have Ruby sectioned under some mental health bill.

" _R-Really I'm fine,"_ Ruby stuttered out, continuing to back away while hoping the reassuring smile she was trying to give Pyrrha didn't seem to dopey. She tried to raise her hands in a somewhat placating gesture, but the fact that the fingers of her right hand had also gone numb made it seem rather ineffective. " _I… I… I've got a tracker!"_ Ruby said suddenly, eyes going wide as an idea hit her. She _knew_ that little app Yang loaded onto her scroll would come in handy someday! " _I-It's on my scroll, I just, I just need to find someplace secluded and then, then my sister will find me and give me my… my medicine, and then everything will be fine!"_ By now even Ruby herself thought she wasn't too convincing, but the way the amber tint kept creeping deeper and deeper into her vision meant she _really_ didn't have time to worry about this stuff now! " _S-So, thank you! For, uh, haha, helping me up and stuff and I really appreciate it and I'd_ really _love to stay and chat but I really can't because, I, uh, need to go find my sister! Yeah!"_ She rattled off, already trying to shake the numbness out of her legs. " _Oh! And s-sorry for running into you and sorry for, for acting like this,"_ she started, until the whole stark whiteness of her vision suddenly turned gold.

Her heart clenched in panic.

"… _B-but I reallygottagobyenicemeetingyouandsorryagain!"_ She cried, screwing her eyes shut and rocketing off into the distance, off the immaculate stone-paved road leading to Beacon and into the distance, where there likely less students milling about.

A part of her felt bad for running off like that – really, Pyrrha seemed much nicer than Snowy was about the whole 'helping out' thing and besides it was _Pyrrha freakin' Nikos_ and what was not to be excited about and –

Pain lanced through her head and she stumbled, falling down on all fours briefly, before shaking the pain away and speeding on, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake. _Time and a place, Ruby,_ she shakily told herself, _time and a place…_

She thought that would be their chance meeting.

She thought it was likely that the redheaded Mistralian Champion would likely classify her as some sort of cripple, or some sort of psycho, and move on and forget the whole encounter had ever happened. After all, it wasn't as though someone of Pyrrha Nikos' calibre would actually put much interest in a 'sick little girl'.

In actuality, the little Seer couldn't have been more wrong.

Had she glanced back, even for a second, she would have seen the tall redhead's eyes following her into the distance, emerald orbs strained and almost wilting under an assault of worry, concern and caution. Briefly, Pyrrha gazed back towards Beacon – Ozpin's speech would be starting soon, and it would hardly be proper to miss it. But…

She looked back in the direction the little red caped girl had run. Something was very, very wrong – with clarity Pyrrha recalled the bloodshot silver eyes, the ragged breathing, the cold sweat and even the sudden paleness, so stark it made the veins on the young girl's neck stand out. _Her sister,_ Pyrrha remembered. _She said her sister would find her…_ And yet… The tall warrior girl couldn't quite find it in herself to find peace in that knowledge. The worry, for some reason, rested on her shoulders like a physical weight, and when she remembered how fragile the caped girl had seemed, despite the _obviously_ forced cheer – which she easily recognized, given how she often used it herself – Pyrrha Nikos just _couldn't_ bring herself to walk away. At least… not without making _completely_ sure the young girl was fine.

She cast a determined glance back at the colossal structure of Beacon Academy. Even from here she could see the giant doors leading to the main hall, where Ozpin would likely be delivering his welcoming speech. It would hardly be proper to miss such an affair, she thought… But it was even less so, to leave someone who was obviously _not okay_ alone.

 _I… I'm sure they'll understand, if it so happens that we miss it…_

And with that though, the tall redhead squared her shoulders, and diligently strode forwards, following the trail of red rose petals that the young caped girl had left in her wake.

* * *

It took Ruby a few moments to find a place she deemed secluded enough – a few absolutely _agonizing_ moments, where every heartbeat sent a lance of pain riding down her spine and every breath felt as though it took in a lungful of ignited napalm. She was _pretty_ sure the fabric of her shirt obscured by the corset was absolutely _drenched_ in sweat, and from a distance, even with the world being nothing but contrasting shades of white and amber, she could see her leggings had turned _several_ shades darker by now.

But at last, she found it; a little nook nestled into the corner of Beacon Academy – not a door or window in sight, and nothing but the vastness of the City of Vale in the distance; a boring sight, compared to the marvel that was Beacon. _Heh, there's even a little bush here,_ she thought deliriously as she fumbled with the zipper of the carry-bag she'd taken to lugging around. After a few grunts and hisses and more than a few instances of pulling at the fabric instead of the actual zipper, Ruby finally managed to open the little satchel, and eagerly withdrew her trusty sketchpad and a pencil. She quickly flicked to a clean page, letting out a low whine as she realized her hands were so sweaty the smudged some of her earlier drawings – but yet another pained spasm eliminated those worries.

She took a deep breath, and tried to steady the tip of her pencil near the centre of the page – 'tried' being the keyword. _Oh wow,_ she thought glumly as she tried in vain to follow the graphite tip as it jumped about due to the rampant tremors running up and down her arms. _Come on… Stupid vision… Stupid arms… Stup-AHA!_ Finally, with a determined _press_ , the pencil's tip came to rest… as close to the centre of the page as it was likely going to get. With her free hand she reached back and re-secured her hood, and grit her teeth.

 _Alright you stupid little vision,_ she huffed. _Now I'm ready. Come at me! Show me what you've g-hrgh!_

She jolted, her spine curling from the wave of agony, and finally, the world beheld by her eyes _shattered_.

* * *

For the first time, there was no looming void, no amber nothingness on which the shadows collided and slowly formed ink-stained shapes. This time was different – this time the shadows were waiting, the inky darkness blooming as a deep bouquet of blackness the moment the little seer's vision shattered into crumbling traces of colour.

A chorus of wails sang a hymn of loss and tragedy, their voices crying and screaming and pleading and whining and moaning in absolute _symphony_ as the carnage unfolded. In a blink, the shadows took on a macabre scene; featureless figures fled from beasts hewn from the very darkness of the shadows, slanted eyes glinting viciously as streets and city blocks amidst the high-rising building were turned into a slaughtering ground; every spatter of blackness in the place of blood did not splash down on the ground, but formed another case, another struggle, another victim falling to their pursuer. The beasts of darkness stalked the dying city as the towers constantly reaching for the sky toppled. Black blots swarmed through the sky as a cloud of locusts, all beating wings and shrill cries, and every inch of ground taken by the beasts of blackness was an inch where those monuments of human achievements crumbled. Slowly yet certainly the black beasts pushed, lumbering as if in rank and file towards the bright light shining in the distance – a bright light that was glowing ever dimmer beneath the onslaught of shadows.

 _Blink_.

The dying city dispersed, scattering into a dull gray cloud that mixed sickeningly with the amber canvas. Those annoying sounds returned, clear as mid-winter rain pattering down on a roof above; a constant, almost rhythmic series of thuds echoed across the void, each thundering sound accompanied by the creak of wood and the squelch of something horrid being crushed, ripped, _torn_ under blade. The shadows formed splatters of blood that arched skywards with every strike, as a wicked-looking carving knife slammed down on a wooden board of gore held in place by butcher's hooks. There was _vigour_ in the repeated motions; a sense of excitement, a sense of appeasement, as that wicked edge slammed down on the mangled flesh – a tremor shook its handle with every strike. Then the raucous ringing resumed, a cacophonous downpour of clanging steel akin to hail upon a tin roof, yet more shrill, more metallic, more _eager_. Around the butcher's block, coins cascaded down in torrents, and the shadows formed greedy fingers that tried oh so desperately to gather as many as possible. Lilting laughter sounded amidst the eerie orchestra of hideous sounds; one shrill and sounding of relief and joy, and one scornful, sounding of nothing but cruelty. And then… then the laughter _warped_ as a third tone interfered, a third ringing laughter that wept auditory wickedness. The two laughing tones from before had changed, now begging, pleading, crying, _wailing_ ; the cleaver ignited, webs of crimson fire turning the blade to slag and basking the coins with enough heat to make them glow and bend, and all the while the gore and the gold were pulled towards a central point… and finally, the crimson fire formed clawed hands, that clenched around the gathered spoils, and incinerated it completely; and along with that action, the original laughter fell silent, leaving only a single, wicked snicker echoing in the distance.

And then, there in ambient darkness, two bright green eyes akin to a snake's opened – and they gazed _right at her_.

 _Blink_.

Foliage and forestry was torn asunder beneath a colossal conflict and feathers and scales ruined the landscape. A bestial argument permeated the air, all shrill shrieks and violent hisses as the two great beasts clashed. The superiority of the sky bore razor-sharp talons and a spear tipped beak as the Giant Nevermore dove, red eyes glowing hellishly, and on the darkened earth, fangs straightened and muscle coiled as the Ancient Taijitu reared to strike. A corvid Grimm streaked with red against a snake-like Grimm without a white half; it was an oddity, an abomination of nature, and yet, they clashed, and clashed again; each impact was a stalemate, each wound begot a wound. Finally, the Giant Nevermore's talons failed it, and its wings grew too heavy – in a blink, the black snake had coiled around it, and as its fangs sank into the tender flesh beneath wrought-iron feathers…

The Nevermore shrieked, and its shriek sounded _all too human_.

* * *

And as always, Ruby's world returned to normal in a blink…

…and the first thing she did was _shudder_.

The cold sweat made her bangs cling to her forehead and cheeks and every single breath felt as though she were swallowing glass. It felt as though every next heartbeat would tear a rupture into her chest and the way her stomach was churning made it feel as though someone stuck her innards in a tumble-drier. With a nervous gulp, she chanced a glance towards the large page she'd stopped on before the vision started. She was hoping an affirmation of what she saw in the vision could make her feel less… uneasy about everything she'd witnessed.

But it didn't.

She saw it all in clarity; the Nevermore, the coins, the carving knife and the weird Taijitu, and the carnage… She shuddered again. The carnage was displayed in all its gory glory, dark spots of hazy graphite indicating splotches of blood amidst a ruined cityscape. And finally, Ruby's gaze settled on the sinister pair of eyes nestled in the darkness of the upper corner. Her heart clenched painfully when she realized that even on paper, those eyes seemed to be locking with her own. With a trembling hand she turned the page, making sure not to curl the already damaged spine any further, and finally relaxed when her eyes fell upon a blank white canvas again. Her shoulders slumped, and she let out a shaky breath in relief. _"…_ That was a weird one…" She muttered under her breath, and smiled happily as she realized her voice, no, her _hearing_ was finally back to normal. Tentatively she closed the sketchbook, planning on getting up and hightailing it out of there as soon as possible because _darn it, that was the weirdest vision ever! What's even going on?_

With a resolute huff, she made her decision. _I have to find Yang,_ she thought shakily. Even if her older sister didn't have any answers Ruby _had_ to get this off her chest, or it would stick with her until bedtime – maybe even longer, like some of her old visions did. With haste she quickly tucked her sketchpad under her arm, and slung her satchel over her shoulder. She could bother with getting it all packed away later, but first she _had_ to find Yang.

Even if was just to ask for a hug.

With a determined huff, she readied herself; with her sketchbook under one arm, her satchel slung across her shoulder and Crescent Rose tucked comfortable into the crook of her back again, she placed a clammy, yet remarkably steady hand on the support beside her, looked up…

…and locked gazes with a pair of worried, vivid green eyes.

Ruby's mind effectively shut down as she recognized Pyrrha Nikos sitting on her knees barely two feet from her, her train of thought devolving into a steady, rapid stream of _oh no oh no oh no oh no'_ s as the redheaded warrior jerked slightly as their eyes locked. She didn't even notice the way Pyrrha's lips started moving, a clear sign of an incoming question.

No, at that moment, Ruby did the only thing her panic-addled mind told her she could do:

She yelled.

 _Loudly_.

* * *

When Pyrrha Nikos finally tracked the diminutive red-caped girl through the trail of rose petals she left in her wake, the sight she found did absolutely nothing to assuage her worries; if anything else, it merely compounded them, and instilled in her a sense of almost _fear_ at the severity of whatever attack the young girl was experiencing. A pencil was ripping across a blank page of a sketchbook nestled on the girl's lap with such speed and ferocity Pyrrha was amazed the tip hadn't shredded the paper yet, and that wasn't even getting _started_ on her physical state.

"Uhm… Hello?" She chanced nervously, taking a cautious step forward. "Did you… Did you manage to contact your sister?" She received no reply, and thus took another step forward. Now she could see clearly – and _hear_ clearly. While the caped girl's face was obscured by the rim of a large red hood, the rest of her body spoke volumes. Her breaths escaped her in ragged heaves, some even _whistling_ as they escaped her, and every now and then an errant tear would fall from under the hood's brim and splatter down on the paper. The girl's shoulders were twitching almost _violently_ as she ripped the pencil from one corner of the page to the next, and even from a distance, despite the dark shade of the clothes she wore, Pyrrha could see the girl's outfit was almost completely drenched.

A conflict bloomed within her; her first instinct was to keep trying to communicate, and hopefully pull this girl out of whatever little bubble she'd secluded herself in. She frowned slightly, feeling slightly dejected. _I knew I shouldn't have let her go._ It had been a tremendous mistake on her part – she should have known better than to let the girl run off, claiming she was okay when she so obviously _wasn't_. It was… not her best moment, she admitted. She had resolved, however, to compensate for that moment now.

She just didn't know _how_.

After all, it was no fictional stereotype that people caught up in such… _vehement_ attacks normally responded violently if interrupted.

Another tear dropped down onto the paper, smudging lines of graphite as the caped girl's pencil darted from corner to corner with gusto, and a particularly dry rasp of an exhale made Pyrrha flinch slightly. Awkwardly, she looked around, hoping to find a sign of anyone with a concerned expression, or haste in their step or generally just looking as though they were search for someone. When she witnessed nothing but the distant outline of a gaggle of students paying _no_ mind to the direction she was in, her shoulders slumped slightly as she turned back to look at the twitching girl nestled into the crook beside one of the outer supporting columns. Once again she tried her luck, taking another step forward. "Can… Can you hear me?" She asked uncertainly. "Hello?"

Again, no answer, and that served only to compound her worries. She was close enough now to make out certain details on the paper the girl was drawing on. Perhaps sketching was a coping mechanism for her? Again, Pyrrha found herself glancing back towards the large crowd in the distance. Surely _someone_ there could offer some form of assistance regarding this? She had been trained as a warrior, after all – not a shrink. A part of her nearly decided on that plan, nearly told her to go find someone more suited to helping this girl out of her funk… but no small amount of hesitation prevented her from doing so. What if the girl wandered? What if she got lost in this little trance of hers? It was a frustrating conundrum.

Finally she decided against leaving. Even if she weren't at all qualified to help out with this kind of thing, she figured the worst option to take was one involving leaving this girl all on her own – especially when Pyrrha was still unsure whether the girl's sister was coming or not. With that in mind, the Huntress-to-be took a deep breath and sank down on both knees near the girl. She turned her gaze towards the sketchbook nestled on the caped girl's lap, and very quickly started piecing together what was being drawn as criss-crossing lines started forming familiar shapes. A detailed brawl between a Giant Nevermore and the black half of a King Taijitu took up most of the centre of the page, with odd little macabre drawings encircling it; coins being engulfed by flame, a giant carving knife being melted down by the same tongues of fire, and buildings, _so many_ buildings, all in various states of disarray.

Pyrrha wisely kept herself from wondering what those little blots on the ground amidst the destroyed cityscape were supposed to be.

The thing that caught her attention the most, however, was the pair of eyes nestled in the top corner of the page. The rest of the imagery was quite well-drawn, she had to admit, but those snake-like eyes… they looked realistic enough to be outright disconcerting – especially considering how they seemed to be narrowed wickedly.

Finally, the pencil stopped moving, and in one tremendous sigh, all of that pent-up tension seemed to _bleed_ out of the little caped girl's form. Her shoulders, which had been twitching erratically, slumped in relief and fatigue and her whole body seemed to go _limp_ for a moment. It would have worried Pyrrha greatly, had it not been for the way the girl's breathing seemed to steady. With a shaky hand the pencil was deposited back into a small carrying satchel, and a subdued, almost inaudible "… _That was a weird one…_ " muttered from under the girl's hood. It was as though the attack just… _ceased_ , Pyrrha noted with no small amount of surprise. The girl's movements were sluggish, all of a sudden, but they were somehow _revitalized_ , moving with renewed purpose rather than just spasming under some unknown tension.

It was equal parts fascinating and worrying. Just _what_ kind of panic attack was that?

The caped girl moved with a set goal in mind, then, shaking Pyrrha out of her introspection and making her sit just a tad straighter. She tucked the sketchbook under her arm, grabbed her satchel, took hold of the corner of the column, no doubt for support, and looked up – right into Pyrrha's eyes.

Those silver orbs weren't bloodshot anymore, the warrior noticed.

She cleared her throat and opened her mouth, intent of asking whether the girl was finally okay after her anxiety attack…

" _Yaaaaaaaaaah!"_

…Only to let out a startled squawk of her own as the caped girl screamed in surprise. She tipped backwards, her legs shooting out from under her and making her topple onto her rump as the caped girl's sketchbook went soaring skywards, raining down a cascade of cracking white pages as arced through the air. Pyrrha herself was caught in an awkward combo of scuttling backwards, raising her hands in a placating gesture and trying desperately to say " _I'm sorry!"_ while the caped girl sat there, wide eyed, with two clammy pale hands clamped over her mouth. Finally, the muffled scream died down, and all that energy that had renewed the young girl's body just seemed to _seep away_ in shock as she slumped back against the wall with a relieved sigh.

"I-I'm _so_ sorry!" Pyrrha quickly spoke, hurriedly scampering back to her feet and edging herself closer to the now listless little girl. "I, I spoke earlier and tried to see if you were okay but, you were so focused on your drawings and I didn't want to leave you alone," she explained. "You… You looked _really_ stressed for a moment, so… I couldn't exactly bring myself to leave you alone so… so…" She trailed off as she heard laughter bubbling from the little girl's throat, and her expression turned to one of great confusion as words seemed to fail her.

The little girl, however, just kept giggling. "Y-You nearly… You nearly scared my cape off…" She said with a smile, still reclining against the wall. The statement only served to make Pyrrha feel worse about the whole situation. She opened her mouth to try and apologize again, but was once again interrupted when the diminutive girl shot her a shy, curious glance. "Could you… Could you help me again…?" She asked timidly.

"O-Of course!" In a blink Pyrrha was beside her, gingerly helping the little girl up. Already there was a marked difference from their first encounter – whereas the girl's grip back on the cobbled road was weak and clammy, now Pyrrha felt the first vestiges of returning strength as tiny hands clung to her arms. The girl was also on her feet much faster. She was no less exhausted, it seemed – in fact, she seemed about ready to fall asleep standing up – but she was a lot livelier. Some of the colour was even returning to her face, if the way her veins were lightening again was any indication. Still, the girl seemed… nervous somehow. Almost shy.

Her eyes darted every this way and that, and she was suddenly wringing her hands nervously, toeing at the ground in what was likely an attempt to get the feeling in her legs back. "I… You didn't…" She started, before frowning to herself. "I… Sorry," she finally said. "I… I didn't want to worry you. It… it would've been over soon anyway," she said, cautiously lowering herself to the ground as she started to gather the scattered drawings that had been ripped from her sketchbook when she threw it in surprise.

Pyrrha readily copied the motion, quickly gathering up the myriad of papers that seemed to be out of the girl's reach. She didn't bother trying to look too much into what was drawn on them – it was likely quite private. "I didn't think it was wise to leave you alone," she said as she organized the drawings in her hands quickly. "You… You looked like you could have used a helping hand," she said, handing the drawings back. The caped girl accepted them sheepishly, almost reluctant to meet her gaze again.

"Y-Yeah," the girl finally admitted, shuffling in place as she quickly stuffed the drawings back into her satchel. "I… I'm better now, though," she said reservedly, before locking eyes with Pyrrha. Those silver orbs seemed to take on a shine, and offhandedly Pyrrha noticed the girl was almost a whole head shorter than her. "Like, _really_ , I'm fine now! See? It's all over," she said with an awkward half-smile as she held out her hands. True to form, they were shaking much less than they did before – only an errant tremor or two made her fingers twitch occasionally. "So it's all much better! I… I'm really sorry I worried, I… I kinda sorta didn't want… _people_ to see what happened when I… When I…" She trailed off, shaking her head, and her awkward half-smile bloomed into a full one. "I'm really fine now, though! It's all over, and… and I should be okay for… I should be okay," she summarized, pouting slightly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Pyrrha inquired, making sure to keep their gazes locked. Yes, the girl looked _much_ better, but visually she was far from 'okay'. She looked just about ready to keel over any moment, given how heavy her eyelids seemed to be. "Are you sure you don't need help? Finding your sister, I mean."

Silver eyes blinked curiously, before the girl's face lit up. She opened her mouth, no doubt intending to try and placate Pyrrha again, but instead of the usual bubbly tone, the silence between them was broken by a raw guitar solo and a thunderous drumming. The girl jerked, and a hint of pink settled across her cheeks as she hastily pawed at her outfit. "Gngh… Stupid… girl pockets…" She grumbled, before finally withdrawing her scroll. Her eyes seemed to light up when she looked at the caller I.D. She hastily answered with an excited "Yang! I-" before being cut off entirely as what sounded like nothing short of an _interrogation_ erupted from the other end of the call. "Y-Yang, relax! I'm fine, I'm fine. Just… Just a bit shaken," she spoke. "Y-Yeah, I… I had another… another episode," she said, a hint of glumness creeping into her voice, one that made Pyrrha feel almost sorry for her. _Another_ , the girl said.

These anxiety attacks were a recurring thing, then…

"No, no, I'm fine," the girl spoke again, looking at Pyrrha with a shy smile. "I'm fine. Uh… Well… Someone… Someone nice stuck around. She… helped me, so to speak. Helped me… get my things together," she finally said, and despite it all Pyrrha found herself smiling slightly at those words. " _Yes_ , Yang, I'm completely fine," the girl finally spoke, sounding a bit put out, if the way she was pouting was any indication. She let out a tired sigh, though, and her shoulders slumped slightly. "Just… Ugh. Where are you, sis? I… I need to come and find you. Okaaaay… Big, brown double doors. Biggest ones. Got it. _Yes_ , Yang, I'm _fine_ ," she groaned. "I promise. This girl who helped me really went the extra mile. Okay, I'll see you then. Kay, bye!" With a final put-out sigh, she slid the scroll closed and pocketed it again, before nervously meeting Pyrrha's gaze again. She folded her hands behind her back and awkwardly swayed in place. "Sooooooo…"

Pyrrha couldn't help but utter a short laugh at the display. "It seems you're set," she finally spoke. "Yang? She's your sister?"

"Y-Yeah. I… Well, it's not always like that," the girl said with a shrug. "Actually it is but I'm normally much better about it! Honest. It's just… Ugh. I'm so tired now…" She said with a grimace, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hands.

"She _did_ sound quite worried. You should probably go to her," Pyrrha said with a smile. "Especially if she's the one with all your medication. Are you _absolutely_ sure you'll be okay now, though? Do you need me to help you find her?"

"N-No, she… Um, Yang told me. Where to find her, I mean, so there's that, and I really don't want to be more of a bother, I mean its' bad enough you had to come after me once already and I just… Uh…" She trailed off, wringing her hands again. "I… Thanks," she finally said, in a somewhat subdued manner. "It's easier if I talk to someone after… after that happens. But… Not everyone sticks around when they see what happens. So… Yeah. Thanks," she said shyly. "I should, uh, I should _really_ get going. I'm so sorry for making you do this," she said.

"It was no trouble," Pyrrha said, waving her concerns off with a chuckle. "I'm actually relieved you're alright. You had me really worried there – and not just because you ran headfirst into my shield," she said, stifling a giggle when the girl's face turned roughly the same shade as her cloak. "I must again, though: Are you _really_ sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm, I'm totally fine," the girl answered, finally offering a bright, wide smile to showcase the truth of her statement. "It really helped, having you here. I… Normally after a v… after an _episode_ , I'm, well, a bit down in the dumps. I feel a bit better than usual now. So… Uh… Thanks!" she said with a while smile. "Uh… I'm… not really good at this socializing thing, so, uh…"

"I'm sure your sister is waiting for you," Pyrrha reassured her. "Best not to keep her waiting."

The girl regarded her curiously for a moment – before another bright smile bloomed on her face. "You're right. Thanks again for the help! And sorry for all the trouble," she said, already turning to head off into the distance. "I'll make it up to you!" She called as she broke into a jog. "I promise!"

Pyrrha merely waved and smiled as the girl disappeared in another flurry of petals. It was… an honestly confusing scenario, she had to admit. On one hand the girl's anxiety attacks seemed almost crippling, given their physical effect on her. On the other hand, _somehow_ the little caped girl managed to remain cheerful and positive – if a bit socially awkward. Pyrrha smiled as she stood there. _What an odd little… girl…_ She trailed off, her expression screwing itself up in confusion as something finally registered. _Odd… I didn't even get her name…_ Pyrrha thought to herself. She shrugged it off, however. They were all slated to sleep in the main hall that night anyway. Odds were she could find the bubbly girl there somewhere and check up on her, she thought, propping her hands on her hips. It seemed such a silly thing to forget, though. Especially since Pyrrha had learned her-

"Excuse me, Pyrrha Nikos?"

The redheaded warrior jumped slightly, before turning to look at who addressed her. She recognized the newcomer easily enough; her outfit hadn't changed much since the concert where Pyrrha first saw her. Snowy-white hair, arctic blue eyes and an outfit comprised of stark white – with a touch of red lining on the inside of the bolero jacket. _Weiss Schnee,_ Pyrrha remembered, instantly putting on a smile as the Heiress approached. "Weiss Schnee, yes? It's a pleasure to meet you," she said cordially.

"Likewise," the Heiress offered her a small, seemingly practiced smile in return. "Normally I'd be inclined to chat – after all, you've long been an inspiration to me," she said, and Pyrrha wilted inwardly at the words, "but in this case I was hoping you could help me with something," the Heiress said. "I've been following these," she said, pointing at the rose petals littering the grass, "looking for a sickly little girl in a red cape who's been having some kind of anxiety attack. Have you seen her? She ran off before I could get her help," Weiss said, her expression souring.

Momentarily surprised, Pyrrha's smile faltered slightly. "I saw her, yes. She… She ran into me earlier. Assured me she was fine before running off, and, well, I couldn't in good conscience let her sprint away like that without making sure she was safe first," she said measuredly.

"And yet she's not here either. Did she run off again?" the Heiress asked irately. "Ugh. How can _one girl_ be so much trouble?"

"She wasn't very well off when I found her, no," Pyrrha spoke up, remaining cordial as she folded her arms behind her back, tucking her hands under her shield's rim. "But the worst of it blew over and she recovered well enough to start making her way towards more suitable help. Her sister phoned her moments before she left. They're going to meet up now."

"So she's okay?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms and staring off into the distance, her blue eyes tracking the trail of rose petals leading to the cobbled path. "Are you sure?"

 _That_ served to draw a short chuckle from Pyrrha – and the sound seemed to make Weiss' lips curve into a pleased smile. "I asked her the same thing," she said somewhat glibly. "A handful of times, actually. Trust me, Weiss, I wouldn't have let her go if I wasn't absolutely sure she could make the trip," she said with a smile. "There's something about her that-" A sudden fluttering of paper cut her off, the crisp sound almost _loud_ in the glade-like ambience of the side of the academy. With a curious expression Pyrrha turned and saw a single A4 page pressed flush against the white exterior of the academy, almost perfectly blending into the architecture. "Hm. She missed a drawing, it seems," she said, striding over and plucking the paper up. "As I said, there's… something… about…" She trailed off as her eyes inadvertently locked onto the paper – and suddenly her worry returned with spite in mind.

"Something about what?" She heard Weiss speaking in the distance, and the tell-tale sound of footsteps falling on soft grass prepared for the Heiress' eventual appearance by her side. "What's wrong, Pyrrha? What's on the… paper…?" She asked, trailing off, and her eyes went wide – wide, and utterly worried.

Pyrrha didn't rightly know what to make of the image she was witnessing. It was mostly comprised of shadowy spectres, their figures void of details; they seemed to be large blots of graphite shaped like normal people. They lacked such details like hair and fingers, but the one detail that _was_ ever present on every spectre was the giant, gaping circle of white – and Pyrrha didn't need any hints to realize those were mouths, agape in terror. The reason why… Her worry doubled again. Beasts and monsters unlike _any_ Grimm in _any_ textbook chased them down. They were frighteningly detailed; spindly limbs topped with scythe-like claws swung at the fleeing humans, and beneath a honeycomb array of sickening eyes an absolutely _massive_ maw of jagged teeth trickled saliva. They poured from a burning rupture in the distant cityscape, a rupture surrounded by fallen bod- "Okay, no," she heard Weiss speak, and in a blink the presence at her side was gone. " _No_ ," the Heiress repeated in the distance. "Absolutely _not_."

"Weiss?" She asked worriedly, quickly hiding the picture as the Heiress stalked off from view.

"If _that_ ," Weiss said indignantly, pointing at the image now hidden behind Pyrrha's back, "is what's going on in this girl's head whenever she has one of her little episodes, then I am _not_ getting involved any further," she said with a scowl. "How… _How_ was she even cleared to come here? Isn't there some kind of psyche test?"

Pyrrha frowned at the Heiress words. "I'm sure she must have passed, if she's here already. It's just an image, Weiss," she said measuredly. "Everyone has their quirks, don't they?"

"Quirks?" Weiss parroted, raising an eyebrow and folding her arms. "Pyrrha, _please_ , just look at that image again. Nightmarish monsters, dead bodies, carnage – _that's_ apparently what she draws when she has these little anxiety attacks and if what you said earlier is any indication, she has a _lot_ more of them! That _can't_ be a sign of a healthy mind!"

Pyrrha frowned as she looked at the image again. Yes, it was incredibly dark, and slightly unnerving, but surely it couldn't have meant that little girl was some kind of psychopath… "I'm sure," she said again, tearing her eyes away from the image, "that there is a _perfectly_ reasonable explanation for this. Anxiety isn't always just jitters, Weiss. It comes in many shapes – and if we judge her for something as simple as _this_ ," she said urgently, waving the page around, "it won't help matters. She seemed quite well off when we spoke."

Weiss sighed then, her expression conflicted, before finally pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm sure," she said carefully, "that little girl isn't some kind of psychotic. I'm sure she's actually quite sweet, if a bit annoying. But cases like these tend to be _volatile_ , Pyrrha – it's why whole theses have been written on the subject! I just… I _can't_ see myself associating with her until I'm completely sure about what's wrong with her," she said finally. "And if I can honest, Pyrrha? Neither should you. _We don't know_ what's going on, and when people like her are involved? Not knowing tends to be dangerous."

It seemed Weiss had finished saying her piece, then – because she abruptly spun on her heel and stalked off, hardly even giving Pyrrha a chance to respond. It was… quite irksome, Pyrrha agreed. Quite off-putting as well – that kind of judgement left a vulgar taste in her mouth… but in the end, she couldn't really fault the Heiress for her actions and choices. She was right, in a way – cases like these tended to be volatile.

But as she looked down at that image again, and remembered just how bubbly and bright the caped girl was despite having suffered an absolutely _harrowing_ anxiety attack, Pyrrha shook her head. _I'm sure there's an explanation,_ she reaffirmed with a nod, _but it's not my place to seek it. Yes, I'm worried about that girl – but not because of what Weiss claimed. I'm sure the Heiress is wrong about her._

With a deep breath and a resolute expression, Pyrrha folded up the image and shoved it into her pocket, intent on returning it to the caped girl as soon as possible.

She was worried about that girl, yes…

…but she wouldn't let that tarnish her opinion of her.

* * *

Yang was eternally grateful for the ruckus that was being kicked up in the main hall, because honestly, if there were even a _slight bit_ less noise she was certain the absolutely huge sigh of relief she released when she finally saw Ruby striding towards her would be nothing short of _explosive_ in volume. She quickly strode over to one of the darker corners of the atrium, and didn't even _bother_ with words; the moment Ruby was in arm's reach Yang pulled her into one of the fiercest hugs she'd ever given her. She shuddered when she felt just how _drenched_ with sweat Ruby's clothes were, and the fact that Ruby was trying to hug her back with as much force as her tired, tiny frame could muster told Yang that _this_ vision was the worst she felt in a long time.

"…You wanna talk about it?" She asked softly, idly rubbing circles on Ruby's back as they stood off to the side. "Nobody can hear if we talk softly."

"…Had a vision," Ruby responded glumly, her voice muffled by Yang's shoulder. "Blew my chance at making a friend. Made a snob angry. Humiliated myself in front of Pyrrha Nikos." She shuddered in Yang's arm. "…Can I just go to sleep already? And not wake up for a while? Please?"

Despite herself, Yang managed to chuckle – and the fact that she felt Ruby smile into her shoulder told her it wasn't an unappreciated sound. "That would be a coma, Rubes," she said glibly. "Those are dangerous."

"…I could use a coma right now," Ruby responded, in an equally glib manner. She twisted herself so her mouth wasn't obscured by Yang's jacket, but made no move to break the hug.

"Alright, sis," Yang said with a nod. "Tell me all about it."

And _boy_ did Ruby tell her.

Yang felt her stomach drop _right_ past her feet, right past Beacon' very foundation, as Ruby described what she felt when the vision was first starting. It had never, _ever_ been that bad; the worst Ruby had ever felt was a stinging in her eyes and a pain at the back of her head. This… This made Yang _pale_ with worry. Ruby told her about her very senses suffered, her vision turning shades of white and her hearing becoming distorted, and unconsciously Yang tightened her hug. Ruby told her about Jaune Arc, the quirky, slightly weird boy she was befriending before the vision decided to mess with her, and how he was likely going to view her like some kind of weirdo now. She told Yang about Snowy, the white-haired, yet well-intentioned snob, and how scary the girl could be in her insistence to 'get help', and despite just how nauseous Yang was starting to feel she couldn't help but chuckle at Ruby's expression when she mentioned Snowy. She told her about Pyrrha Nikos, and how the Mistralian was apparently 'super cool' and really nice and friendly but was now likely also considering her a weirdo, despite Yang _vehemently_ telling her otherwise. And finally, Ruby told her about the vision – and Yang had to close her eyes so Ruby couldn't see them turn red.

A surge of anger flowed through her. _Another one of those goddamn riddle-visions,_ she seethed inwardly. _They never end…_

Ruby's muted tirade finally ended then, and she seemed to outright wilt in Yang's hold. "So tired…" She groaned, her entire form slumping from the fatigue. "…and my head hurts. Has Ozpin delivered his speech yet? I… I really wanna go lay down. Rest my eyes. Maybe pretend today never happened. Yeah… That sounds nice…"

Again, Yang found herself chuckling. "Ozzy hasn't even appeared yet, sis," she said regretfully. "That's why the hall's so packed." The resulting whine from Ruby made Yang giggle despite the sombre mood, and when she looked down, she saw Ruby was smiling as well. It was a small smile, a _tired_ smile – but it was a smile nonetheless. _At least I can do that much_ , she thought with a nod. "But hey, tell you what: The _moment_ Ozzy's done with his speech I'll go find us a shady spot where you can take a nap. Deal?" She said with a grin.

"Hmm. Yeah. Deal," Ruby said, her smile widening. Her eyes, however, were already dulling from the fatigue.

Yang merely tightened her hug. "We'll figure it out, sis," she said reassuringly. In the distance, she saw Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch step backstage behind the drawn curtains. The greeting speech would be starting soon, she realized. That was good – the sooner that whole ruckus was finished, the sooner Ruby could get some rest.

"We'll figure it out," she repeated. "I promise you. This'll all get better – just you wait and see."

* * *

A short nap had done Ruby a _world_ of good, Yang thought later that night as she approached their sleeping bags. The whole ballroom had been cleared to make room for all the prospective first years' sleeping bags, and Yang had been quick to find a secluded corner for her and Ruby to set up in. Her little sister was currently laying on her stomach, whimsically kicking her legs as she wrote letters to… to what little friends she had in Signal, Yang thought with a grimace. Nonetheless, the carefree smile on her face now was something that warmed Yang's heart all over again. A nap and a cold shower, it seemed, was enough to do the trick – most of Ruby's glumness at the weird vision had all but evaporated.

"So!" Yang said boisterously as she flopped down on her sleeping bag, grinning at the way Ruby jumped in fright. "Are you gonna point out everyone you met for me today or am I gonna have to start playing Twenty Questions with the first person I see?" She asked with a mischievous smirk.

In panic, Ruby's eyes widened adorably. "Please don't," she said meekly, quickly finishing up her letter before stuffing it under her pillow and sitting up. "Okay… Let's see, uh… Ugh, none of these people look famil-Oh! There's Snowy!" She said, pointing to the far side of the ballroom, and lo and behold, Yang realized Ruby's little nickname for the white-haired girl rang true, much to her amusement. Cascading white locks, chilling blue eyes, and a faded bluish nightgown that seemed quite exquisitely made created the perfect little 'ice princess' image. Yang chortled. "Oh my god, she looks stiffer than a double shot of vodka. Geh! N-Not that I'd know, of course," she quickly added when Ruby turned an inquisitive glance at her.

"…Riiiiiight," Ruby said, her tone laced with suspicion, before turning back to the crowd. "Anyway, let's see if we can find Jaune… Where is he…? Yang, keep your eyes open for a blonde-haired, blue-eyed b-pfffft!" She awkwardly cut herself off by slamming both hands across her mouth, stifling a bout of giggles as mirth shone in her eyes. "Oh my… Wha… What is he wearing?!" She finally asked when her giggles died down. Yang eagerly followed her gaze – and had to bite down on her pillow to prevent herself from laughing aloud. Seriously, who even _wore_ onesies when they were over ten years old? "Well, at least he's making a fashion statement," she chortled. "Even if it's an outrageous one." Seriously, the urge to catcall him was almost too much.

"Heheh… At least the bunny slippers are cute," Ruby mused as she went back to scanning the ballroom. "And _obviously_ I don't have to point Pyrrha out to you," she said finally, flopping back down on her back – without taking into accord how thin her sleeping bag was. "Ow."

"First name basis, huh?" Yang grinned. "You're setting the bar _pretty_ high for the whole First Friend-thing aren't you?"

" _Please,_ " Ruby shot her a playful glare. "I already told you, she probably thinks I'm some kind of weirdo."

"Hmm. You sure about that?" Yang asked with a mischievous grin.

Ruby, to her credit, caught on immediately, shifting in such a way that she was ready to bolt away with a flurry of rose petals in a moment's notice. "What's with that look?" She asked warily. "Yang, seriously; what's with the look?"

"I'unno," Yang said with a shrug, quickly hopping to her feet. "You _did_ say she was all nice and friendly didn't you?" She asked with a wry little smile, one that made Ruby gulp audibly. When her little sister nodded anyway, Yang's smile broadened. "Well then," she said, lunging down and seizing Ruby by the arms before the diminutive reaper could even twitch, "I think we should go see just _how_ friendly she is. And if nothing else," she said, her smile becoming sincere, "I want to thank her. Y'know… for being there for you when I wasn't."

Those words alone seemed to dispel most of Ruby's hesitation. With a put upon sigh, her shoulders slumped. "Fiiiiiiine… At least let me get up by myself," she said, wiggling free of Yang's grasp before clambering to her feet. "I guess I don't have much to lose anyway," she said with a hopeful, albeit nervous smile. "Lead the way, sis."

"Atta girl, Rubes," Yang said with a smile, eagerly standing up and walking towards the spot where Pyrrha was camping. Oddly enough, the Mistralian Champion seemed to be sitting alone, which was… really weird, in Yang's opinion; it wasn't like she wasn't well-known. "Say," she said, turning on her heel and walking backwards as she faced Ruby. "Don't you think it's weird that Pyrrha's sitting all alone over there?" She asked.

Ruby chanced a glance towards the redheaded warrior, but quickly reaffixed a worried gaze on Yang as she went. "Maybe she doesn't want company? So maybe we shouldn't be doing this and maybe you shouldn't be walking backwards like that _please turn around Ya-Look out!"_

Ruby's warning came too late, however, and Yang's foot snagged on the edge of someone's sleeping bag. With a loud yelp, the blonde brawler was sent tumbling to the ground, meeting the harsh, unforgiving ground with a loud _thud_. She was back on her feet, however, before the ensuing laughter could even start. "I'm okay!" She quickly asserted. "I'm okay! Are you ok-oooh, wow, that messed up your sleeping bag," she said lowly as she gazed at the now twisted black bedding at her feet. The occupant, a black-haired, amber-eyed girl with a dainty bow in her hair seemed more startled than anything, given her disgruntled expression and the way she was pressing an open book to her chest.

"…I'm an idiot," Yang stated aloud, quickly sinking down on one knee in an effort to fix what she'd (sort of) ruined. "And I was doing an idiot thing and that's why I messed up your bedding and I'm sorry," she said quickly, tugging at the corners of the sleeping bag in an effort to make it look presentable.

The dark-haired girl had settled down by now, her face set back into a mask of neutrality even if her eyes had a wary gleam in them. "…You don't _have_ to, you know," she said measuredly. "It's a sleeping bag. It's going to get messed up anyway."

Yang paused upon hearing this – for all of two seconds before continuing to straighten out the dark fabrics. "Yeah, maybe," she admitted with a shrug, "but it's the principle that matters. Name's Yang, by the way," she smiled. "Yang Xiao Long."

"Blake," the dark-haired girl responded neutrally – before raising an eyebrow in amusement. "Aren't you that girl who went all crazy at the docking pads?" She asked, a hint of mirth creeping into her tone.

Yang felt her cheeks flush slightly as she let loose an awkward, forced chuckle. "Y-Yeah, that… oh man, you actually saw that?" She asked exasperatedly. Blake nodded, saying nothing and keeping her expression neutral – but her eyes still seemed to gleam. "I was looking for my sister," Yang explained. "She's… Well, she's sick, and she disappeared from the spot I told her to wait for me, and, well, I panicked."

"Your sister…" Blake mused. "That girl with the red cape? The one who literally ran into Weiss Schnee?"

"Weiss Schnee?" Yang parroted, frowning, before realization set in. "Ah, so that's Snowy's name." The nickname seemed to make the corners of Blake's mouth turn upwards. "Yeah, that one. You'll have to excuse her if she's quiet, though, she's slightly socially… awkward…" Yang trailed off as she looked to the side in an effort to nudge Ruby into talking – only to find her little sister nowhere in sight. "Ruby?" She called out, quickly rising to her feet.

"She seems well-off enough to me," Blake said with a small smile as she pointed to the far side of the ballroom – and Yang quickly gazed in that direction, only to see her little sister nervously walking towards Pyrrha Nikos.

"Heh. Guess she's got it in her after all," Yang mused, before she noticed something in the corner of her vision. She turned to face it fully, and saw Snowy – now known as Weiss Schnee – busying herself with a notebook of sorts. _Wow,_ she thought with a snort, _make that a triple shot_. Nonetheless, according to Ruby, Weiss was the first person to try and help her – even if she was snooty about it and even if Ruby didn't exactly want help at that moment. _I should let Rubes and Pyrrha talk a bit,_ she mused, _and maybe go thank Weiss first._

"She seemed quite serious about helping your sister, you know," Blake's voice pulled Yang out of her reverie, and Yang looked at her with a surprised expression. The dark-haired girl was already intently focusing on her book again, but she seemed to be quite aware of where Yang was looking. "She yelled to me to get help, but I'm… new to Vale. I've only got numbers for Mistral services on my scroll. Then your sister bolted and the Ice Princess over there got quite frustrated."

"You don't say…" Yang mused, folding her arms. "Would you excuse me for a bit, Blake?" Yang asked, smiling widely at her latest acquaintance. "I've got something to settle." Blake didn't answer verbally – she just quickly looked up from her book and offered Yang a little shrug, before falling back into her reading. "Thanks. I'll be _right_ back," Yang said, putting on her best smile and striding towards the spot where Weiss was fretting over her notebook, pointedly missing the "Take your time" that Blake threw after her.

* * *

 _Hoo… Okay, come on Ruby… You can do this. It'll be easy! You talked to people earlier, didn't you? It was easy then too-Oh who am I kidding I was just as nervous then! Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe she really wants to be left alone and really, who am I to intrude? I mean shyeah, if I wanted to be left alone I'd be acting all alone too and wait, when did I get so close? When did I get here?! There was half a ballroom left last I checked!_

With a nervous gulp, Ruby found herself standing in front of Pyrrha's sleeping back. The tall redhead was currently busy rifling through her pack, with her back turned to Ruby, so _thankfully_ there was still a chance to pull out. _What if she doesn't want to be disturbed?_ Ruby thought, nervously folding her hands behind her back. _I should probably go, I mean, there's no reason this can't wait until the morning when everyone's all happy and refreshed and oh hey she's looking at me and –_ Ruby froze. _She's looking at me._

 _Quick! Say hi! Say he-_

"Hello again," Pyrrha beat her to the punch, greeting her with a warm smile that almost made most of Ruby's nervousness melt away. "Feeling better?"

"…Yeah?" Ruby answered hopefully, before clearing her throat and shaking her head. "I-I mean yeah! Much better! Yang gave me my meds earlier and I sorta took a nap under a big tree so my headache is gone too and… and… Uhh…"She trailed off, shoulders slumping. "I'm rambling… Greeaaat…"

Pyrrha merely chuckled good-naturedly in response. "Please, don't be shy. If nothing else it's great seeing you in a better place than you were this afternoon. You had me really worried there, you know."

"Yeah, I…" Ruby started, before fumbling with her words. "Sorry about that," she said sincerely. "Really, I… I don't like it when people see me… having those episodes. It… It never worked out back home," she said. "I didn't mean to make you worry, I just… I…"

"Please," Pyrrha said with a smile, holding up her hand, "there was no harm done. As I said, you're fine now and that's all that matters." She paused then, eyes widening slightly as she remembered something. "Oh, before I forget," she said, quickly pulling her pack closer and rifling around in its confines. "You forgot this earlier," she said, and all of a sudden a ball of ice started forming in Ruby's stomach. _She doesn't mean… Does she…?_ "Here!" The redhead finally said, withdrawing a folded, weathered piece of paper from her pack. "We missed one earlier."

At that moment, it was as though Ruby's whole world froze. The ball of ice that had formed in her stomach _exploded_ and chilled every inch of her body, right down to her bones, and suddenly it even felt as though her very shadow had left her. Unbidden, memories assailed her mind, jeering cries of ' _What's with those pictures?'_ and _'Whoa look at what this freaky girl drew!'_ immediately flooded her. She gulped, almost flinching as it felt like swallowing a wad of sandpaper. _She… Did she…_ "T-T-Thanks," Ruby croaked, gingerly extending a hand and taking the paper again. She pointedly ignored the way Pyrrha's brows furrowed in worry. "D-Did… Did you look?" She asked shakily. "…Did you see it?"

"…Yes?" The redhead answered worriedly, her response akin to a thunderclap in a deafening silence.

Ruby's shoulders slumped. This, she realized… This was looking like it was going to be Signal Academy all over again. "O-Okay…" she said softly, and slowly tucked the paper away behind her back. "I… I guess I'll be g-going…" She said morosely, already taking a step back.

She was halfway through turning around before Pyrrha's urgent cry of "Wait!" made her pause.

Slowly, she turned back, not daring to meet Pyrrha's gaze – instead opting to keep her eyes riveted to the deep red fabrics of the tall warrior's sleeping bag. "Y-Yes?" she asked nervously, and she nearly flinched when the folded paper squeaked as the pages rubbed against each other under her nervous grip.

"I… I didn't catch your name earlier."

With a look of surprise, Ruby finally looked up and met Pyrrha's gaze. The redhead was sitting comfortably on her bedding, wearing that same reassuring smile she wore earlier that day. "You told me your sister's name – Yang, if I'm not mistaken?" She said. "But somehow I didn't get yours."

"I…" Ruby started, before clearing her throat, ignoring the sting the action caused. "I'm Ruby," she said finally. "Ruby Rose."

"Ruby Rose…" Pyrrha repeated, before smiling cheerfully. "It's quite fitting, given your cape," she smiled, before beckoning to an unobstructed spot on her sleeping bag. "Would you like to a sit a while?" She asked.

The mere question made Ruby stop dead. A warmth was replacing the icy feeling her left her with earlier, a sort of happiness she didn't _dare_ entertain, at least not yet – not after how much these situations seemed to mess with her back in Signal. "You…" She started, fumbling with her words again as she struggled to form a sentence. _Pyrrha Nikos_ had just invited her – _her_ , of all people! – to sit with her! And this _after_ seeing the drawings of her visions! "…Don't you think I'm… y'know… some kind of weirdo? Some kind of freak?"

For a moment Pyrrha's face fell, just like all the others back at Signal did – but this time it didn't turn into a grin or a smile or a cackle. No, for just a moment, Pyrrha's face morphed into a mask of pure shock – before she quickly forced it all away, and smiled sincerely again. "No," she answered, her tone sounding so sincere Ruby thought she wouldn't have a choice _but_ to believe it. "No, I don't. Not after the discussion we had earlier," she said, beckoning to the open spot again.

Hesitantly, Ruby sank down on her knees before quickly sitting down. The sleeping back was oddly comfortable – and quite padded, too. She fidgeted nervously as she sat, her fingers tugging at the edges of the folded paper, before she finally pushed her confusion away long enough to form a coherent sentence. "Can… Can we, y'know, _not_ talk about this?" She asked hesitantly, raising the folded sketch in her hands. "It… It's made enough things weird, back at Signal, I don't... I…"

"I understand," Pyrrha quickly beat her to the punch again, offering an understanding smile. "I wasn't planning on talking about it anyway. Honestly speaking, Ruby, you're one of the first people I've met here," she said cheerfully. "I… I was hoping we could be friends," she said earnestly.

 _Friends_.

That word alone served to dispel every bit of hesitation and doubt Ruby was feeling at that moment. The chill that had seeped down to her very bones evaporated, replaced by an almost flooding warmth as giddiness overtook her. A little part of her still expressed doubt – but she was quick to shake it off. Pyrrha had sounded so sincere, so _honest_ when she said all that… Ruby couldn't help but believe her.

And so, in the face of a budding new friendship, Ruby Rose smiled dazzlingly.

* * *

"Excuse me," Yang spoke up as she approached the teal-coloured sleeping bag. "Weiss Schnee, right?"

The person in question looked up from her notebook, frigid blue eyes shining inquisitively as she regarded Yang with a critical eye. Nonetheless, she quickly slipped a dainty-looking bookmark into her notebook, closed it, and set it aside. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Not help, no," Yang said with a smile and a shrug. "I just wanted to thank you." Upon seeing the confused expression on the Heiress' face, Yang continued. "Name's Yang. My sister Ruby told me you tried to help her earlier when she had a panic attack. That… was kinda my fault, really," she quickly fabricated a lie. "I got the dosages for her meds mixed up, gave her half a pill this morning instead of one and a half. It… Yeah," she said, hoping she sounded slightly remorseful. "Didn't work out so well."

Weiss' expression, though, had turned slightly uncomfortable. "Mistakes happen," she said in a clipped tone. "I take it she's better now, though?"

"Much better," Yang answered quickly, already fabricating more chapters of the story she was spinning. "Ruby would be here to apologize as well," and Yang did _not_ miss the way the Heiress' shoulders tensed at this information, not at all, "but she's… very nervous. She feels she inconvenienced you, caused you a bunch of extra trouble, and, well… She asked me to extend her apologies as well. Both for the stress, and for knocking over your crates."

For a moment, Weiss' expression remained uncomfortable – but after a while she let out a long-suffering sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose before standing up. "Yang, was it?" She asked, a hint of nervousness creeping into her business-like tone. "I don't want to stoke any fires here, honestly." Yang almost snorted at the irony of that statement, given the Heiress was speaking to _her_ of all people. "But all of this is _really_ unnecessary. And…" She trailed off slightly, before seemingly steeling herself, squaring her shoulders and setting her face into a determined expression. "Listen, I'm sure you and your sister are both friendly, charming people, but given your sister's… sickness, I-"

"I'm way ahead of you there, Weiss," Yang quickly cut her off, hoping dearly the sudden wave of disappointment wasn't too evident in her voice – or on her face. "I get it. We're… not your crowd, so to speak. Don't worry about it," she assuredly the Heiress falsely. "It's happened before. You're not the first and you won't be last. And honestly you're well within your rights to want us to… to stay away. I… I'll be honest, I was hoping it wouldn't be that way," Yang admitted finally, her shoulders slumping slightly. "But… I understand. Sometimes… Sometimes it wears on me too. I… I'll tell Ruby we… Well, don't worry about it," she said with a smile. "We won't bother you again."

Something changed in the Ice Princess' eyes then – a flash of pity flickered across the steely pools of frigid blue – and even if only _slightly_ , the Heiress' posture lightened. "Thank you for understanding," she said, as sincerely as Yang wagered she could sound while remaining professional. "And… if it's any consolation, Yang… Your sister's lucky to have you," she said curtly, before promptly returning to her sleeping bag. She didn't even pick up her notebook again – she merely crawled under the covers and reached for the candles flickering at her bedside. "Goodnight, Yang," Weiss said simply, before blowing out the candles and turning to go to sleep.

Yang lingered there for only a _moment_ longer, before quickly spinning on her heel and stalking off, _hoping_ so dearly that her immense disappointment didn't show in the way she walked. It stung, if she had to be honest; this… _thing_ had started all the way back in Sanctum, where people would just outright refuse to associate with Ruby due to being weirded out by the physical effects of her visions. The cover story of her being 'sick' just made it worse. Yang sighed, then, slowing the pace at which she was walking. At least Weiss had been cool about it. Sort of – she was still as stiff as a board, and every bit the princess Yang expected she'd be… but in the end, it was ultimately the Heiress' choice.

Getting mad about it would just make Ruby sad.

With a put-upon groan, Yang rolled her shoulders, relishing in the loud popping sounds that followed from the gesture, before scanning the ballroom for any trace of Ruby. She found her little sister precisely where she expected the little reaper would be; seated on Pyrrha's sleeping bag, chatting animatedly with the redheaded champion – who, much to Yang's delight, seemed to be every bit as lively in the conversation as Ruby was.

The sight made her smile, the most sincere one she'd worn in _months_.

 _Maybe I should get around to thanking Pyrrha tomorrow morning,_ she thought to herself. _I don't want to intrude – especially when it seems as though Rubes has made a new friend_. Intently she scanned the ballroom, hoping to find a trace of one of her old Signal friends. The few she had left were remarkably cool with Ruby's condition – and they took her earlier chat that she'd be seeing them less in stride. Nonetheless, they told her they'd always make time for her. Maybe this time was one of… those… times…

Yang smiled as her eyes fell on the girl whose sleeping bag she'd messed up earlier. Blake, if memory served. She seemed to be quite wide awake, especially given the hour. _Eh, why not_ , Yang thought with a shrug before starting to make her way towards the bow-wearing girl's spot. _Who knows? Maybe I can make a friend tonight as well._

* * *

 _Soon._

In the depths of the Emerald Forest, three shadowy forms stirred, eagerly crawling out from within the hovels they'd carved for themselves beneath the trees of this foreign, broken world. Multiple crimson eyes blinked tiredly, and caustic spittle dripped from parted mandibles and monstrous fangs as the scent of a potential harvest finally drifted down from the cliffs in the distance. The humans were doing something there – preparing for something. What it was mattered little – it would be a feast regardless.

Their _last_ feast.

 _Soon_.

The promise of a fresh meal flooded their arachnid limbs with renewed vigour and purpose, and set their stomachs rumbling once again. After _weeks_ of feasting on nothing but soulless dregs, after _weeks_ of surviving on naught but sheer will, they would finally have their compensation; a reward for their tenacity, a final send off before they bade goodbye to sweet yet sorrowful existence.

The White Rider was coming. This they knew well.

He had entered this world barely three days prior, and within three more they were certain their Broodmother, the vile, wicked thing that led their brood to ruin, would be dead by the Rider's guns. And then…

…Then _they_ were next.

 _Soon_.

 _Soon_ the Rider would come for them. The price of trespassing, the price of unauthorized entry into the Third Kingdom was, and always would be, a gruesome death. The White Rider _would_ come for them… and by his guns, they would die.

This they knew, as well.

But at the very least, the three Broodlings thought as one…

At the very least, they would not die starving.

The humans in that castle would see to that, when the morning finally came.

* * *

With a groan akin to a starving mammal's plea for help, Ruby rolled back over in her sleeping bag as the morning sunlight tirelessly tried to pierce the comforting blackness of sweet, blissful sleep. _No_ , Ruby thought airily, with a sloppy gurgle as she pulled her covers up to her chin. _Nuh-uh. I'm sleeping more. Go 'way, sunlight. Go bother Weiss._ It had a rare night of peaceful slumber – after the tumultuous vision she had experienced the day before, not a single nightmare or dream plagued her. When she was younger, Ruby always hated it when she didn't dream. It always made the nights seem so _short_.

Nowadays, though, dreamless nights were a blessing she held quite dear.

Blearily, Ruby did everything in her (unsurprisingly stagnant and sleep-ridden) power to wrestle control of her sleep back. She quickly tucked her legs in and brought her knees up to her chest to prevent the breezy morning air from licking at her toes, she curved her back _just_ right to make sure as much warmth as possible was caught up under her covers and she even tried to squish her pillow tighter against the side of her head. Blindly her hand fidgeted around, pushing at the soft, feathery thing until her hand slipped under it and… and…

Ruby froze.

Silver eyes _shot_ open, heedless of the early morning brightness as the back of her hand brushed against something rough and papery. She was _absolutely_ _sure_ all her letters to her friends at Signal had already been stuffed into her bag, so what could possibly be sitting under her pillow.

She gulped nervously, already fearing the worst – what if someone saw her breakdown yesterday? Apart from Pyrrha, that is? What if this was a mean prank because she was apparently sick, or because she was so young?

She weighed her options diligently, considering every possible outcome. Calming down a bit, she realized it likely wasn't a prank – go by how the object felt, it was likely just a scrap of paper. It was unusually thick, though – almost like the pages of her sketchbook. With a hesitant expression, Ruby decided to take a chance. She wrapped her fingers around the paper, and slowly withdrew it from underneath her pillow.

The golden embroidery along the edges was the first thing she noticed, and _wow_ _it's even glittering_ , she thought as she watched the intricate stalks of flowers shine even in the dim morning light. The paper itself was coarse, and a deep, rich shade of brown – almost like a treasure map, she thought with a silly smile, before catching herself and clearing her throat. Her worry now replaced with intrigue, Ruby turned the paper over in her hands, and her eyebrows shot up to her hairline when she realized the paper was actually one of those _really fancy_ old letters! It even had a seal made of melted wax, bearing the mark of… a sword… a three-pronged sword, one that looked vaguely familiar…

Her heart leapt up and settled at the back of her throat, and every heartbeat nearly made her gag.

Surely it couldn't be… Could it?

Eagerly she bolted upwards, one hand reaching back and _ripping_ her pillow away from where it was all bunched up beforehand. The quick motion made the edges of the sheets she had laid out the night before flutter slightly – and her action had caused the other object beneath her pillow to hop into the air a few feet before daintily starting to drift back down.

Ruby had _never_ focused on _anything_ so diligently before. Her silver orbs tracked every errant twitch, every languid arch, and every lazy spin as the object floated down and came to rest on her sheets, and a small part of her subconscious was happy she decided to hold her breath because _really_ , the excited gasp that fought to escape her would have woken the entire darn ballroom.

A feather, she realized.

A long, _golden, gilded_ feather.

For a moment she sat there, dumbstruck, her jaw lazily twitching as she tried her best to formulate a proper response to this. Remembrance took her back to one of the happiest moments of her life and in her mind's eye she recalled the features of the angel who had saved her with _perfect_ clarity.

The recognition was enough to knock every trace of sleep _completely_ out of her system.

She was breathing rapidly, she realized, and she was getting _so excited_ it was getting hard to even think straight. She couldn't freak out here, in the ballroom – not at all – but, but, the _feather!_ The _note!_ She just… a tremor ran down her spine and for once it wasn't the bad kind – it spurred her into action. She screwed her jaw shut lest a shrill peep of joy escape her and within _moments_ she was on her feet, the feather and the note clutched in one hand as she made a beeline towards Yang's sleeping bag.

Her fingers daintily wrapped around Yang's bicep, and had she not been so narrow-mindedly focused on the contents of her letter she would have _quite_ proud of how easily she had managed to pull the blonde brawler out of bed. They were halfway to the girls' bathrooms by the time Yang uttered her first delirious " _…hwhath?"_ , and by the time Ruby had opened the bathroom door as _carefully_ as her current state allowed – which was not very carefully at all but she _really_ couldn't care less right now – Yang had only managed to creak a single eye halfway open. "Mmrgh. Rubes? Wha… Wha'zgoin'on?" She gurgled as Ruby quickly propped her upright on one of those fancy benches lining the middle of the room. "S'like… like… sleep o'clock, go back to five…" she muttered, and promptly fell backwards, her head hammering on the wooden bench with a loud _thud_.

She snored loudly, barely a second afterwards.

Ruby took a moment to frown exasperatedly at Yang's slumbering form – _her back's not gonna agree with that,_ she thought – before shaking her head and quickly getting to work. In a burst of petals the toilet stall doors thundered as Ruby checked each one in record time, and when she was sure the restroom was _completely_ empty she quickly scurried back to the entrance. Cautiously the pried the door open _just_ enough so she could squint through the crack with one eye. _Good,_ she though with a sly smile. _Everyone's still asleep… including Yang. Ugh._ With a soft huff she scurried back to where Yang lay sleeping on the low bench. "Pst. Yang. Hey Yang. _Yang!_ " she pressed, shaking the blonde girl. It worked about as well as she expected – in other words, not at all. Yang's snoring just got _worse_ , in fact. With a weary groan, Ruby decided to pull out the big guns. She quickly wiped her hands on her pants before sticking a finger inside her mouth. After a moment, when she was sure it was likely all icky, she withdrew with a loud _pop_ …

…and jammed it into Yang's ear.

The result was instantaneous. Yang's sleep addled mind quickly realized something gross was afoot, and heavy-lidded lilac eyes slowly crept open – before widening completely as realization set in, and a garbled squawk issued forth from the blond girl as she violently jerked to get away from the sudden icky obstruction in her ear. Not the wisest thing to do when one was sleeping on a bench, Ruby thought as her sister went tumbling to the cold, unforgiving ground with a loud yelp. She winced as Yang's blonde mane disappeared beneath the bench – _maaaaaybe_ she didn't quite think that one through, Ruby admitted…

Yang resurfaced a moment later, sputtering as she tried desperately to pull several locks of golden hair out of her mouth. "Geh… Ugh… Okay, okay I'm awake!" She said quickly. "What's up? Was it another vision?" She asked, her face scrunched in worry. That expression lasted all of a few seconds, however, before Ruby – at a loss for words herself – merely pushed the giant golden feather towards Yang. The older brawler's expression turned placed for a moment before recognition sparked in those lilac orbs. "Is… Is that…?" She asked, hesitantly pointing at the golden object. Then her eyes fell on the folded letter in Ruby's other hand.

Ruby, not trusting her voice at that moment – especially in a place like a bathroom, where echoes were likely – merely nodded _very_ excitedly.

Any traces of sleep that had lingered on Yang's face outright disappeared as the brawler stifled a joyous laugh, quickly hopping onto the bench and seizing Ruby in a one-armed hug. "Well, what are you waiting for?" She said eagerly, pointing at the fancy letter. "Open it up! Let's see what's what!"

At that point Ruby could barely contain herself any longer – with gleeful, almost childlike excitement her fingers tore into the waxen seal, carefully prying it off the expensive-looking paper. The edge it had been layered on tore more than few times but Ruby wasn't much worried – she'd still be able to make out what was written there, especially with Yang sitting next to her. After several almost _agonizing_ moments the seal finally gave way completely, and the note unfurled with a crisp folding sound. Golden text glittered in the lighting cast by the overhead bulbs, shining so much it looked as though the words had been written with actual _fire_.

 _Finally_ , Ruby thought, as her heart hammered in her chest. Eagerly, the two sisters began to read:

 _Little Rose,_

 _I pray this message finds you well. I am aware it has been quite a while since we last spoke, and for this, I sincerely apologize. More often than not, I lose track of time. But I did not lose track of my goals, or my oaths._

 _I did not lose track of you._

 _My sources tell me you have started on the road to achieving that which you so righteously seek – and two years early, at that. The moment I witnessed your soul, I knew you were unique. I knew you were special – and getting accepted into an esteemed academy for Huntsmen and Huntresses merely proves that. I am proud of you, Ruby – and I am overjoyed to hear of your fortune._

 _The Four have trained me well these past years. They have prepared me to fulfil the role I swore I would – and I am on my way back to Remnant as I write this. I look forward to our reunion – we have much to discuss._

 _Keep the fire in your soul kindled, Little Rose, and keep forging onwards._

 _We will meet again soon._

 _-U._

With shaking hands, Ruby lowered the note until it came to rest on her legs. Her shoulders shook with giddiness as she ran those words over and over in her head. Uriel knew! She _knew_ Ruby had made it to Beacon! And she was proud of her! And… And…

Ruby let out the first syllable of a disbelieving, _relieved_ laugh. It sounded a bit like an overly cute bark, she reckoned, but she _simply couldn't care_ what it made her look like.

Uriel was on her way back. ' _We will meet again soon,'_ she said. After three long, _tiring_ years, Ruby was finally going to see the angelic woman again.

She didn't noticed the raucous laughter that had started escaping her in joyous peals until Yang seized her in a hug and shoved Ruby's face into her shoulder to muffle it. Despite it all, though, Yang was laughing as well – straining to keep it from being too obnoxious, but she was laughing nonetheless, and in her sudden bout of happiness Ruby _eagerly_ returned the hug.

Ruby had thought things couldn't _possibly_ get any better when she and Pyrrha had clicked so easily the previous evening….

She had _never_ been so happy to be wrong in her life.

* * *

As she gazed out across the verdant canopy of the Emerald Forest, and smiled as the sun shone down on her from high in the cloudless sky, Ruby Rose could barely contain her excitement. Life had been _amazing_ since last night. Not only did she start the day with a new friend in tow – a friend who was so amazingly kind and friendly it almost beggared belief – but the _letter_ from Uriel… She squirmed where she stood on the square sheet of metal, the soles of her boots eagerly squeaking against the logo of Beacon etched into the steel plate as Ozpin delivered his speech. Something about danger, danger, kill-or-be-killed, blah, blah, blah! Ruby _knew_ this was likely going to be important – _very_ important – but even the reveal that the first person she made eye contact with would be her partner couldn't put a damper on her spirits!

The way good things in her life were suddenly just _falling into place_ made _quite_ sure of that.

Hence why Ruby was currently acting like a young kid on a sugar rush as she stood on that steel plate. Even the withering glare Professor Goodwitch sent her way wasn't enough to make her quit it! She didn't even _care_ if she wasn't dissuading people from viewing her as a kid, she was _so happy_ right now and she wanted to make sure _everyone_ knew it!

With a wide smile almost as bright as a spotlight, she recalled the contents of that note, and the absolute _rush_ of indescribable _joy and happiness_ she felt while reading it. Ruby was _quite_ sure her smile couldn't go any wider even if she wanted it to. After three long years of uncertainty and doubt, Uriel had _finally_ contacted her again – and she was _proud_ of her, it even said so in the note! Just _thinking_ about it threatened to make her giggle over again. _Finally,_ she thought as her eyes shone in the sunlight. _Finally…_

"Pst! Hey! You look excited!" A voice whispered to her right, and Ruby turned to look at the speaker only to lock gazes with an equally happy and excited pair of green eyes and an almost _infectious_ grin, framed by a mop of orange hair. "Name's Nora!" the giddy girl spoke. "You as excited about this as I am?" She asked.

"Ruby," she responded in kind, before allowing her smile to turn into a confident smirk. "We're gonna kick this Initiation's _butt_."

" _Aww yeah!"_ Nora responded, eagerly holding up her hand for a high five – a request Ruby _gladly_ obliged to. "You seem fun!" she said in a chipper tone. "I mean obviously I've gotta partner up with Renny, because we're here together but not together-together, but hey! I think you'd make a cool teammate!" She said excitedly.

Ruby grinned in response, but anything she could have said was abruptly cut off when one of the students – the first from the left, if she remembered – was outright _catapulted_ off the cliff. " _Oooohmygosh!"_ Nora raved beside her, eagerly hopping from foot to foot. "This is gonna be _awesome!"_ she cried, eagerly readying her colossal warhammer and _wait_ , Ruby thought with a gleam of wonder in her eyes. _Is that a grenade launcher's cylinder built into the head of her hammer?!_

Any further excitement regarding Nora's weapon was halted when yet another student was catapulted into the air. Ruby glanced down the line of students, quickly trying to pick out more fancy weapons. Snowy – or Weiss, as Yang called her – was using a dainty little rapier with a dust-loaded cylinder built into its crossguard and Jaune… Ruby wilted slightly. Jaune was standing there, woefully unprepared for what was about to happen – even though it was likely he knew what was coming by now.

Poor guy. Maybe if she hit the ground and ran fast enough she could catch him? Sure, she'd have to partner up with him then but that was hardly much of a drag, seeing as it meant helping a friend through Initiation.

Two more students were launched into the air in rapid succession, and Ruby smiled when she noticed the next in line was Pyrrha. The tall redhead stood primed and ready, feet apart, shoulders squared, shield raised and sword at the ready. By chance their eyes met and Pyrrha glanced down the line of students – and the redhead offered her a smile and a thumbs-up, one Ruby gladly returned, before getting launched skywards.

Ruby readied herself, unfurling her colossal scythe and quickly shifting into a combat stance, doing her best to ignore the rush of blood to her cheeks as Nora 'ooh'd and 'aah'd over her weapon. Beside her, Yang also took up a stance, deploying Ember Celica and pulling a pair of aviator shades out of her pocket. She nudged Ruby once she had donned them, and offered her a grin. "Check your scroll for that Scroll Tracker I installed," she said confidently. "We'll find each other much easier that way."

Ruby nodded resolutely, and readied Crescent Rose just in time to hear the springs beneath her launch pad prime and creak as it prepared to catapult her forward. Yang's pad went off a few moments before her own did, and Ruby giggled as her sister was flung towards the forest with a loud _"Whooohooo!"_. Finally, the gears beneath Ruby's own plate set themselves into place.

One moment her feet were on solid ground.

The next she was soaring through the air, her cape splaying out behind her in a way Ruby _knew_ looked absolutely awesome to all the onlookers. She laughed as she flew forwards, eagerly using the recoil from Crescent Rose's sniper form to boost herself forwards and further her flight time.

She was _ready_ for this.

This was the moment she had been _dreaming_ of, ever since she had first decided she wanted to be a Huntress.

And as the verdant canopy of the Emerald Forest passed below her, she smiled, relishing in the happiness of the moment, and promise of a wonderful four years laying ahead. Her dad, Uncle Qrow, Yang, Uriel… and even that stupid Council her guardian angel talked about so much… and…

…Her mom, she thought, a hint of sadness creeping into her heart. She shook it off quickly enough – she didn't think Summer would want her to carry sadness around with her. What mattered… What mattered was honouring her mother's memory… and becoming the type of person who could hopefully make her – and all the others – _proud_.

And as she descended upon the canopy of the Emerald Forest…

Ruby realized that just _thinking_ about all of that steeled her resolution better than _any_ pep talk. It flooded her limbs with a sense of renewed purpose, a sense of confidence far greater than what she normally felt whenever she had Crescent Rose in her hands. The look of wonder and happiness quickly faded, even though the emotions did not, and Ruby's face was quickly set into a determined expression capped off with a confident smirk.

 _This,_ she thought determinedly, _will be the day I've been waiting for…_

* * *

 **Post Chapter A/N:** **And we are finished!**

At least it's not 45000 words again right? Close, yes, but not quite.

Now! You may be wondering why I'm doing away with using bold text for this author's note. The reason is tied to that **_very important_** note I mentioned in the pre-chapter A/N, so here goes:

 **On the subject of Pyrrha:** I won't lie, as amazing as Volume 3 was, it very nearly sank a good third of what I had planned for this story with the way it ended. While it may seem that this current course is simple pandering, I can assure you it isn't - I was planning to have Pyrrha become Ruby's first friend in this story since the day of it's inception, way back in March '15, when Volume 3 was nothing but a pipe dream. In the wake of Volume 3 I played around with other possibilities, as a part of me _really_ didn't want to do away with the excellent drama Rooster Teeth established at the end of Volume 3.

However, I couldn't scrap a third of the material I had planned for this story, either.

So what does this turn of events mean for Pyrrha in Strength of an Honest Soul? What impact will her friendship with a young seer have on Volume 3's outcome? Will she survive, will she perish during the Battle of Beacon, will she die _sooner_ or will she die later? I must stress the answer to these questions:

 ** _I don't know._**

I have decided to do away with trying to 'plan' Pyrrha's fate in this story - instead, I'll simply develop her as I intended to in the first place, and, well, whatever happens, happens. If she dies? Hey, she dies, and it's development for Ruby. If she lives, then aaaay, she lives, and it's happiness (and development) for Ruby. For now, however, the only thing I am willing to confirm in any way is that **_Pyrrha's fate is still up in the air, and dangling on the edge of a knife, so to speak._** I have not planned that far ahead, nor do I intend to. What happens, happens - let the dice roll as they wish.

On another note: Apologies.

I realize that 6+ months is a terrible updating rate - I'll not make excuses or grab at straws. Life got in the way quite frequently, and I failed to deal with those scenarios effectively. However, I have recently discovered some direction - I have a job, a routine, newfound drive and confidence, and I am hoping to adhere to a strict personal schedule regarding what I can achieve.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank whoever stuck around to see new life breathed into this story, and I thank everyone who pushed through and made it to the end of this chapter. I will do my best to update more frequently.

On that note: I am planning to publish a third story - both to offer me some variety in what I write on any given day, and to keep my mind relieved of what's going to happen in this story later on - because make no mistake; it's going to get **_dark_**. You guys thought Volume 3's ending was morbid? You haven't seen anything yet. To that end, "Remnant: The Everdistant Elysium" (a RWBY/Fate Stay Night series crossover) will hopefully be published later this week. It's promising to be a lighter and softer take to better balance out how grim (heh) this story is promising to become. Check it out you think it could catch your interest. :)

But enough rambling!

All of you who've read up to this point - you have my sincerest gratitude. That knowledge alone is what keeps me going - and I can only hope I did the long wait justice with this chapter.

Until Chapter 4, then - cheerio!  
-Chaos.


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